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Journalism of Courage
The good news from Gir this year was a significant rise in the number of lions. But officials fear poachers may have made their way into the sanctuary — the last and the only abode of the endangered Asiatic Lion.
“We found a carcass of a lion on August 3 in Patala Desh Harava village in Dhari taluka,” said Divisional Forest Officer (Gir) S.P. Sisodiya. The animal’s claws were missing. “It died sometime in mid-July after eating a buffalo. It’s possible that the poachers poisoned its kill,’’ he added.
Forest officials who examined the decomposed body found 15 of the 18 claws missing. A post-mortem could not be conducted as the body had decomposed due to rains.
Conservationists say the claws fetch a high price. It is believed that since a lion is “brave and majestic,” wearing its claw brings good luck and courage. In the international market, the claw is popularly referred as the “pride of the king.’’
Forest Department officials probing the incident said there had been cases in the past in which poachers, in connivance with the locals, poisoned the lion’s kill. The Forest Department had — in 1994 and 1996 — busted similar rackets.
Officials keeping an eye on the activities of Maldhaaris suspect they might be helping the poachers.
Principal Conservator of Forests Pradeep Khanna said, “We have initiated an investigation. In the past too, we have busted such rackets.”
