Overview
- State lab tests at the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre found no evidence of canine distemper virus or Babesia in samples from the recently deceased lions.
- Eight lions, including multiple cubs, died over a short period in the Gir landscape, prompting an intensive health response by forest authorities.
- Seventeen lions that showed illness were quarantined and treated and 12 have since been released back into the wild after recovery.
- Forest teams carried out large‑scale deticking and deworming of about 600 lions and isolated animals within a 10‑kilometre radius to reduce disease risk.
- Officials say the deaths are linked to seasonal heat stress, dehydration and weakened immunity, and they will keep the available CDV vaccine in reserve rather than use it on free‑ranging lions now.