GJ-LION CUBS-DEATH

Two lion cubs die due to 'careless handling' by mother lioness
    Ahmedabad, Apr 4 (PTI) Two lion cubs died within two
days of their birth due to the "careless handling" by their
mother in Barda Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat, a forest
official said on Thursday.
    The state forest department's efforts to increase the
genetic diversity of the Asiatic lions has suffered a setback
due to the incident.
    "Under its Lion Gene Pool project to boost the genetic
diversity of the big cats in Gujarat, the department has kept
two lions and two lionesses at their facility in Barda
Wildlife Sanctuary near Porbandar," said Chief Conservator of
Forests, Junagadh Wildlife Circle, D T Vasavada.
    Lioness Sarita gave birth to two cubs on April 1,
which took the number of lions in the sanctuary to six.
    "Although proper care was taken by the forest staff,
two cubs died on the night of April 3. During the post-mortem,
we found fatal wounds on the cubs. Since mother lionesses lift
their cubs in their mouth, it is possible that the lioness in
this case miscalculated the pressure, which could have
resulted in their death," Vasavada said.
    He added that such accidents happen when a lioness
becomes mother for the first time and doesn't have experience
of handling the cubs. PTI PJT PD
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