Officials on toes as another lion falls ill at Etawah safari

Kuber suffering from a disease which is yet to be diagnosed

Three months after the death of a lioness, another lion at the Etawah Lion Safari is ill. A team of veterinary doctors and scientists from the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI) Bareilly is monitoring the health of the lion

According to sources, the four and a half year old adult male lion Kuber, brought from Gujarat, has been suffering from a mysterious disease which the experts have failed to diagnose till now. He is ‘unable to stand on his hind legs and is immobile since Saturday.’ The team of veterinarians has not yet ascertained the reason for this.

“Nothing can be said at this point of time. We are waiting for the lab reports of serum, stool and blood,” said an expert on condition of anonymity.

“The condition of the lion is deteriorating fast. He has stopped taking meals and is growing weak,” the expert added.

Deputy director, lion safari, Anil Patel said the big cat was hale and hearty till April 16 but from April 17 he wasn’t able to stand.

“We made efforts to help the lion stand on its legs but it could not do so as his legs were not able to take his weight,” he said.

“A four member team from IVRI, including two veterinary doctors, a surgeon and a pathologist was sent to the lion safari on Sunday,” said Dr AK Sharma, in- charge, Centre for Wildlife at IVRI. Two days later, after the team failed to diagnose the malady, another team of two veterinary specialists was sent from IVRI on Tuesday.

“The second team has been sent basically to collect samples of the lion. Once the team returns, we will do some tests at our laboratory here,” said Sharma. Apart from relying on native experts, the officials at the safari are also trying to rope in foreign experts. “The officials are in constant touch with lion experts of Longleat safari park of United Kingdom,” said the Sharma.

So far, eight deaths have been reported in the lion safari, dream project of chief minister Akhilesh Yadav. Three adult lions (one male and two females) and five cubs have succumbed so far. (With inputs from Kanpur correspondent)