Lion and leopard found dead in Guj's Gir-West division

A lion and a leopard were found dead on Tuesday in separate incidents under the Gir-West division in Gujarat, officials said.

The carcass of the male lion, aged around 12 years, was spotted by forest staff of the Gir-West division while patrolling the Devaliya range of the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary near Junagadh district, said D T Vasavada, Chief Conservator of Forests, Junagadh Wildlife Circle.

The carcass has been sent for postmortem to ascertain the exact cause of death, the official said, adding that no visible injury marks were found during primary investigation.

The leopard, aged around 8 years, was found dead at Alidar village in Gir-Somnath district which also falls under the Gir-West division, said Vasavada.

He said the leopard died of electrocution after it came into contact with a live wire.

Gir forest is the only abode of the Asiatic lions.

As per the last Census in 2015, the forest is the home to 523 lions. Their number has now increased to more than 600, according to the government.

Last month, the Gujarat government had informed the Legislative Assembly that as many as 222 lions had died, most of them due to natural causes, in the Gir forest region in 2017 and 2018.