286 lions, 456 leopards died in Gujarat in 2 years: Forest Minister in Assembly

Gandhinagar: At least 286 lions, among them 143 cubs, died in Gujarat over the last two years, and 58 of these fatalities were due to unnatural causes, state Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera informed the legislative assembly on Tuesday.

Responding to a query by senior Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar during Question Hour, Bera said 456 leopards, including 140 cubs, also died in two years -- 2023 and 2024 -- in the state.

Of the 286 lion deaths, 121 were reported in 2023 and 165 in 2024, he said.

Gujarat is the world's last abode of Asiatic lions. As per the last census conducted in June 2020, the state is home to 674 Asiatic lions, mainly the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary.

In case of leopards, 225 died in 2023 and 231 in 2024, the minister said in a written reply in the assembly during the ongoing budget session.

While 228 lions succumbed to natural causes, 58 fatalities were due to unnatural causes such as the big cats getting hit by vehicles or drowning in open wells, he said.

Among leopards, 303 deaths were due to natural causes and 153 fatalities were attributed to unnatural reasons, Bera said.

The state government has taken various steps to prevent unnatural deaths of big cats such as appointment of veterinary doctors and introduction of an ambulance service for timely intervention and treatment of lions and other wild animals, the minister told the House.

Other measures include building speed-breakers and installing signboards on roads passing through sanctuary areas, regular foot patrolling in forests, building parapet walls for open wells near forests, putting up fences on both sides of the railway track near the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary and radio-collaring Asiatic lions to track their movement, he said.