6th March 2019

Ahmedabad: Two lion cubs were Tuesday found dead in Visavadar range of Gujarat's Gir forest, a senior official said.

Preliminary probe has revealed the two cubs, around five months old, may have been killed by a male lion in a territorial fight to establish dominance, said DT Vasavada, Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh Wildlife Circle.

Earlier last month, two lions, a lioness and a cub were found dead in and around the Gir forest, the only abode of Asiatic lions.

As per the last census conducted in 2015, it is home to 523 lions, though a recent government announcement put the number at 600.

During the Gujarat Assembly session held last month, the state government had said 204 lions, comprising 110 adults and 94 cubs, had died in and around Gir forest in the last two years as on December, 2018.

Of these, 21 lions and six cubs died of unnatural causes like falling into open wells or being hit by trains, the House was informed. .

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