Gir lion deaths and the long-delayed question of a second home

Syllabus:  General Studies Paper III — Environment and Ecology (species conservation)

1. What happened

At least eight Asiatic lions have died in Gujarat’s Gir landscape, with 17 more infected, in a suspected outbreak of babesiosis — a parasitic disease. The Forest Department has isolated lions within a 10-kilometre radius in the Gir Somnath and Amreli districts for treatment and removal of ticks.

The Asiatic Lions 

• The Species: A unique big cat population distinguished by a prominent, longitudinal flap of skin along the belly and males with short, sparse manes that keep their ears visible.
• The Habitat: Confined exclusively to Gujarat, India, where they roam the dry deciduous forests of Gir National Park and heavily adapt to surrounding coastal and agricultural landscapes.
• The Status: Classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, though intensive conservation has successfully raised wild population numbers to approximately 891 individuals.
• The Behavior: They exhibit a rare gender-segregated social structure where males and females live in separate prides, interacting almost exclusively for mating or large kills.
• The Threat: High genetic uniformity from historical inbreeding and total geographic confinement to one region make the entire species highly vulnerable to extinction from a single epidemic.

2. What is babesiosis?

• A tick-borne parasitic infection caused by a microscopic parasite called Babesia.
• It behaves much like malaria — invading and bursting red blood cells — causing severe anaemia, fever, weakness and a swollen spleen.
• Cattle and wild grazing animals (such as spotted deer and nilgai) carry the parasite without falling ill (they are ‘reservoirs’). It turns deadly in a lion only when the animal is weakened by stress or by a second infection such as the canine distemper virus.

3. Why this matters — the single-population danger

WHY A SINGLE OUTBREAK THREATENS THE WHOLE SPECIES

THE ASIATIC LION AT A GLANCE Panthera leo persica — found in just one region of Gujarat, nowhere else in the wild. About 891 lions (2025 count); the Gir National Park core is only about 250 square kilometres. More than half the lions now live outside the protected core — on farmland, revenue land and the coast.

 

WHY ONE OUTBREAK IS SO DANGEROUS Genetic bottleneck — today’s lions descend from fewer than 50 survivors a century ago. This low genetic variety means weak, similar immune systems  →  a single fast-spreading disease (such as canine distemper) or one natural disaster could wipe out the entire species at once.

 

THE OFFICIAL RESPONSE — PROJECT LION (2020) A flagship Central Government effort under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. It focuses on whole-landscape conservation, disease diagnostics for big cats, and reducing human-wildlife conflict. Barda Wildlife Sanctuary (about 100 kilometres from Gir) is being prepared as a second home for the lions.

 

THE SUPREME COURT ORDER STILL UNMET In April 2013, the Supreme Court ordered that some Gir lions be moved to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh, to create a separate ‘safety-net’ population far from Gir. The order remains unimplemented because of political resistance. Kuno was eventually given cheetahs under Project Cheetah (2022) instead of lions.

4. The way forward

• Shift from constant medical rescue to building separate lion populations in different parts of the species’ historic range.
• Make Barda Wildlife Sanctuary a genuine second home, and honour the 2013 Supreme Court order on Kuno.
• Strengthen disease watch at the point where wildlife and livestock mix — vital, since the parasite hides harmlessly in cattle and deer.

UPSC VALUE BOX
Asiatic lion	Panthera leo persica. Protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 — the highest level of protection. Listed as Endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Population about 891 (2025).
Babesiosis	A tick-borne disease caused by the Babesia parasite; it bursts red blood cells, much like malaria does. Its carrier is the tick — not the mosquito.
In-situ vs ex-situ conservation	In-situ = protecting a species in its natural home (national parks, sanctuaries). Ex-situ = protecting it elsewhere (zoos, breeding centres). A second wild home like Barda is in-situ conservation.
The big species projects, with their years	Project Tiger – 1973; Project Elephant – 1992; Project Lion – 2020; Project Cheetah – 2022. All are run under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.
Gir National Park	In Junagadh, Gujarat; core area about 250 square kilometres. The only natural home of the Asiatic lion in the wild.
Kuno National Park	In Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh. Picked for lion translocation by the 2013 court order, but now home to cheetahs brought from Namibia and South Africa under Project Cheetah (2022).

 

EXAM EDGE  ·  QUICK SHARPENERS →  Babesiosis is TICK-borne, not mosquito-borne. The malaria comparison is only about the mechanism (it bursts red blood cells) — not the carrier.

 

MCQ — PRELIMS PRACTICE

With reference to the recent Asiatic lion deaths in Gir and related conservation issues, consider the following statements:

1. Babesiosis is a mosquito-borne parasitic disease that destroys red blood cells, much like malaria.
2. The Asiatic lion is protected under Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, and is listed as Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
3. In April 2013, the Supreme Court ordered the translocation of some Asiatic lions from Gir to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

How many of the above statements are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

 

ANSWER: (B) ONLY TWO