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Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos
Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos
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Asiatic Lion - Data, Pictures & Videos
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Jungle king menu: Cattle catching up with faster food
A study has revealed that the humble cattle constitute a major part of the royal feasts of Gir lions. According to the study, cattle form 47% of the lion diet in protected areas. Outside those areas, cattle seem to become the main course for the lions, representing 76% of the intake. The study says that easy availability of livestock within and outside the protected areas has made the lions develop high dependency on domestic cattle. These findings were presented in a study titled “Implications of diet composition of Asiatic lions for their conservation”. The study, released recently, states: “Owing to the greater availability of livestock, particularly cattle, in the peripheral areas as compared with resident livestock, a clear-cut difference in lion diet was evident within and outside protected areas.” The study goes on to say: “Within the protected areas also, including the national park, livestock formed a significant part of the lion’s diet.” For the study, the scat of 310 lions was analyzed and 12 prey species were identified. The study was carried out by Meena Venkataraman of Carnivore Conservation and Research and Y V Jhala of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII). In all, 258 kills were analyzed. Livestock accounted for 53% of the total kills and wild prey 47%. Cattle were 31% of the total kills; chital, 28%; buffalo, 16%; sambar, 10%; nilgai, 3%; wild pig, 6%; goat, 3%; camel, 2%; peafowl and chousingha (a small antelope) 1%. The proportion of the wild kills in summer was 67%, in monsoon it was 35%, and in winter it was 38%. Livestock was part of the diet in all zones of the protected areas. Livestock made up 38% of the kills in the 258 sq km national park; 50% in Gir West; and 76% in the peripheral areas. A lion expert said that a central government team from the ministry of forests had concluded that the national park’s area should be expanded. He said the national park should then be made the sole preserve of wildlife and should remain free from any human inference. As of now, the fact that 38% of the kills is made up of livestock shows a considerable degree of human interference. Principal chief conservator of forests Shyamal Tikadar said: “The scat analysis may have revealed this fact but no cattle is allowed inside the national park.” Tikadar went on to say: “Lions may have ventured out of the park and killed livestock during their forays.” Venkataraman said: “Whatever is easily available is being killed by the lions.” Ungulates are hard to come by in the Gir periphery, Venkataraman said. “Hence the lions depend on domestic cattle,” she said. Jhala reiterated that domestic cattle are easy pickings. “Lion cubs grow up scavenging and therefore lack the hunting skills,” Jhala said. “Hence as adults some of them are no longer the lions nature intended them to be.” https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city...730839.cms  (08-25-2020, 01:15 PM)Sanju Wrote: Jungle king menu: Cattle catching up with faster food Very interesting write up. Clearly there is a lot of work to be done to separate the domestic livestock from the lion population, or the conflict between humans and lions is only going to get a lot worse than it already is.
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