GIR NATIONAL PARK (Reuters) - Authorities have unearthed hundreds of large iron traps and pits in the world's only natural habitat for rare Asiatic lions after a spate of killings of the big cats by poachers in India.
Gir National Park Forestry officials in Gujarat say poachers have been laying traps near water sources and placing plastic nets inside pits to catch the animals, whose body parts fetch lucrative prices on the international market. In the last seven weeks, 11 lions have been found dead - seven of them killed by poachers. The four others drowned after falling into wells. Bharat Vahani, a forest guard in the sprawling 1,400 sq km park said, "All this happened around us and we failed to stop it. Some lions were stabbed in the face to prevent them from roaring and alerting guards," he added. In recent killings by poachers, the claws, skulls and bones of the lions were missing when their carcasses were found. The bones are used for traditional Chinese medicine and the claws are worn by some men as pendants in the hope of increasing their virility.
In the mid-20th century, India had less than 15 Asiatic lions - slightly smaller than their African cousins - after they had been hunted to the verge of extinction. But a breeding programme launched in Gir in the 1960s has seen numbers recover, and there were around 359 lions according to a census conducted in 2005. Another 21 lions have died over the last five years after falling into wells and pits, raising questions about the safety of the animals and the conservation system in the sanctuary.
Forest officials are trying to cover around 300 wells, some with wooden planks, to prevent drownings. Hundreds of people live in Gir's forests and use the wells.