Lion deaths: Vaccine arrives at Gir
■ Gujarat forest dept receives 300 shots form US for virus
Ahmedabad, Oct. 5: The Gujarat forest department has received from the United States 300 shots of a vaccine against Canine Distemper Virus ( CDV), which is believed to have caused the death of some lions at Gir Sanctuary.
Since September 12, as many as 23 lions have died in the sanctuary, at least 11 of them due to CDV and Protozoa infections, according forest officials.
Additional chief secretary of the forest department Rajiv Kumar Gupta said the decision as to whether to administer the vaccine to lions will be taken after going through various health reports of the animals.
“The consignment has just reached Gir. We will take a call on vaccinating lions in the coming days to after analysing various reports,” Mr Gupta told PTI.
The 36 lions which were shifted to rescue centres from the forest as a precautionary measure are “doing well” and “stable”, he said.
Director of Sakkarbaug Zoo, J. S. Rana, who collected the consignment at Rajkot aiport on Friday, said the vaccine has proved effective in other countries and it offers protection against CDV for one year.
Chief minister Vijay Rupani had said on Thursday that lions contracted a “contagious disease” after eating “contaminated food”.
Leader of the Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly Paresh Dhanani alleged on Friday that there could be a conspiracy behind the lions’ deaths for “political gains”.
“I suspect that lions died after eating contaminated food served to them by the administration. It can be a conspiracy to shift lions to Madhya Pradesh and get votes during the polls ( in that state),” Mr Dhanani alleged.
The Madhya Pradesh government has been demanding that some of the Asiatic lions from Gir be shifted to sanctuaries in that state. A litigation over the issue is pending before the Supreme Court.
Additional chief secretary Gutpa and Gujarat forest minister Ganpat Vasava on Wednesday denied the suggestion that forest staff provide meat to lions to keep them in a particular area.