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As many as 313 lions died in the Gir National Park in the two years - specifically, 152 cubs, 90 lionesses, and 71 male Asiatic lions-between January 2019 and December 2020, the Gujarat government informed the State assembly on March 5, 2021. The State forest minister said that of the 71 lions, 69 had died of natural causes, as also 144 of the 152 cubs. However, the opposition claimed that rotting cattle meat, illegally transported into Gir from the peripheral villages, is a major cause of the deaths.

Gir, which is the last remaining abode of Asiatic Lions in the world, currently has 674 lions as per a survey conducted by the forest department. “When the enumeration of lions were carried out in 2015, there were 523 lions and when the exercise was carried out again in 2020, there were 674 lions which means there was a 29 per cent increase in population in five years,” Vasava said adding that the state government will take strict action if they get any complaints of dead cattle being given inside the sanctuary.

The forest minister said that the state government has spent Rs 33 crore in making parapets for 43,000 open wells to prevent lions from falling into them. He said the government has started four lion ambulances which is equipped with anaesthesia-cum-ventilator, multiparameters monitor, blood analyser, centrifugal machine and ultrasound machine.

Credit : Indian Express

Picture Credit : Google

In February 2021 came the news that scientists believe they may have discovered the smallest reptile on earth - a chameleon subspecies, the size of a seed. Two of the tiny lizards were discovered by a German-Madagascan expedition team in Madagascar. The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body of just 13.5mm. This makes it the smallest of about 11,500 known species of reptiles, according to the Bavarian State collection of Zoology in Munich, Germany.

The female nano-chameleon is significantly larger, with an overall length of 29 mm, the research institute said, adding that the scientists were unable to find further specimens of the new subspecies “despite great effort”.

The species’ closest relative is the slightly larger Brookesia micra, whose discovery was announced in 2012.

Scientists assume that the lizard’s habitat is small, as is the case for similar subspecies.

“The nano-chameleon’s habitat has unfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area was placed under protection recently, so the species will survive,” Oliver Hawlitschek, a scientist at the Center of Natural History in Hamburg, said in a statement.

Credit : World Economic Forum

Picture Credit : Google