Lions follow tigers into oblivion? ...by Shakti Sharma in the HINDUSTAN TIMES.

The tiger tragedy in India may have diverted attention from an even bigger crisis looming in the wild - the Asiatic lion population is being slowly stalked to death by a mysterious disease. The figures are certainly alarming. In just a span of five years, an average of 20 lions have died every month. In 1999 the count at lion safaris of Nahan, Chat Bir at Delhi Zoo stood at 146. Out of this 100 lions have already fallen prey to the killer ailment and the others could follow soon.

Even with the lion population at an all-time low in northern India, the mortality rate shows no sign of declining. At least one Big Cat is dying each month. The disease was first reported from the Renuka Lion Safari in 1999 and has so far killed 52 out of the 67 animals there. A year later the malady struck at the Chat Bir Lion Safari near Chandigarh and has reduced the lion population from 76 to 47. It was a matter of time before it spread to the capital. Two of three lions at the Delhi zoo have perished since July 2004.

Kuldeep Kumar, director of the Chat Bir Lion Safari, is today a worried man. "the disease strikes without warning and from there the end comes swiftly - there's loss of coordination in movement and depressed appetite in the early stages and then paralysis of the hind legs sets in. Death occurs a few days later.

"We are in touch with various research institutes but nothing concrete has emerged so far. The mortality rate in younger animals is very high so we have stopped breeding. What is the fun of mating lions when we know that the cubs are going to die?" he says. Renuka Lion Safari director RS Chauhan is battling against heavy odds too. "We started operations in late 70s and had remarkable success in breeding Asiatic lions. In 1999, our safari had 67 lions, but after the disease struck we have just 15 of them left," he laments.

Like in Chat Bir, no lions are being born in Renuka as well. According to Chauhan: "We have carried out vasectomy operations on our lions and stopped all breeding activity." Veterinarians are baffled at what's wiping out the Big Cat population from under their nose. MP Yadav, director of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute admits that although the disease has caused so much of damage, very little is known about it till date. The situation could get worse in future. Highly placed sources claim the country doesn't have the infrastructure to isolate the viruses. It is also not possible to send the blood samples abroad since no country is ready to risk contamination through foreign germs. Even if a willing recipient were to be found, the process involved would be much too complicated.

So while India responds to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's clarion call to save its tiger population, lions will have to wait for equally powerful friends in high places to take note of their predicament.