Two lion cubs, entangled in a fishing net were found dead in a village in the Amreli district of Gujarat. The fishing net was tied around a farm to protect the crop from wild animals.
According to forest department officials, two three-month-old cubs probably died due to suffocation after they got entrapped in the net.
The bodies of the cubs were sent for post-mortem to ascertain the exact cause of death since there was no outer injury.
Fenced fieldsIn the villages bordering Gir forest, farmers often fence their fields with fishing nets or barbed wire to ward off blue bulls and wild boars which damage crops.
Gujarat's Gir forest and surrounding areas spread over a half-a-dozen districts like Junagadh, Somnath, Bhavnagar, Amreli and Dwarka are the only habitats of Asiatic lions in Asia.
As per the last count conducted in 2015, the total number of lions found in the Gir forest and surrounding areas is 523.
