8 lion cubs die in Gujarat's Gir in a week; Govt steps up preventive measures

Forest minister Arjun Modhwadia said monitoring is being carried out by the chief minister’s office and the Prime Minister’s Office.

Updated on: May 30, 2026, 10:04:47 IST

By Maulik Pathak, Ahmedabad

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Eight Asiatic lion cubs have died in the Gir landscape over the past week, prompting the Gujarat government to step up surveillance and containment measures, according to a state government statement.

Lions within a 10 km radius have been isolated and deticking operations are being carried out in Gir and surrounding regions. (Representational Image/Pexel )

Forest minister Arjun Modhwadia said monitoring is being carried out by the chief minister’s office and the Prime Minister’s Office, and preventive measures, including large-scale deticking operations, have been intensified within a 10 km radius of the affected area.

No new cases were reported in the past two days, he said. Preliminary assessment indicates the cub deaths may be linked to babesiosis. Samples have been sent to the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, with reports expected in three to four days, according to the minister. Experts from Junagadh Veterinary College are also involved.

Lions within a 10 km radius have been isolated and deticking operations are being carried out in Gir and surrounding regions, the statement said.

Earlier, on May 26, the minister said two cubs were suspected to have died due to Babesia infection, while the remaining deaths were due to infighting or other reasons.

The Asiatic lion population, found only in Gujarat, stood at 891 in 2025, up from 674 in 2020, with the species spreading into Amreli, Gir Somnath and Bhavnagar.

In 2018, an outbreak involving Canine Distemper Virus and Babesia led to the death of 24 lions in less than a month in the Gir landscape. Authorities then carried out isolation and treatment measures to contain the spread. Officials said no such clustering has been observed now.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maulik Pathak
He is an Ahmedabad-based journalist with more than two decades of experience. His career spans business journalism and general news, with reporting across politics, crime, governance, public policy, business, industry, infrastructure, energy, ports, aviation, the environment, wildlife and social issues. He began his career in feature writing before moving into business journalism, reporting on companies and sectors including energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, automobiles and real estate. Over the years, his work expanded to politics, courts, crime, public policy, civic affairs, the environment and wildlife. His reporting has taken him from government offices and courtrooms to factory floors, ports, forests and remote villages, covering stories that range from industrial investments and financial markets to elections, conservation and issues affecting everyday life. While many assignments demand the pace of the daily news cycle, others require sustained reporting over months and years to follow developments beyond the headlines. He started his journalism career with the Asian Age in Ahmedabad in 2002 as a feature writer and sub-editor. Since 2022, he has been working with Hindustan Times. Earlier, he worked with Business Standard, DNA, The Economic Times, Mint and The Times of India. His longest stint was with Mint, where he spent more than eight years reporting across multiple beats. During his career, he has worked in both reporting and editing roles, contributing to page planning, local editions and special editorial projects as newsrooms evolved from print-first operations to digital publishing. Early in his career, he also worked on media and documentary projects with an NGO and as a copywriter at a communications agency before returning to journalism. Away from work, he sometimes makes time for a pair of binoculars, table tennis, cinema and the occasional poem.Read More

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