An Asiatic lioness was found dead in an open well in Nagshree village of Jaffrabad forest area, while the carcass of a female leopard was recovered from another well in Juni Barpatoli village of Rajula forest area, an official said.
According to the state forest department, 313 lions died in Gujarat in two years. Of these, 23 lions died of unnatural causes in 2019-20.
Former state forest minister Ganpat Vasava had said that the government has built high walls for 43,000 open wells in the Gir forest to prevent incidents of animals falling into the wells.
As of June 2020 census, there were 674 Asiatic lions in the Gir forest area. In 2015 their number was 523.
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