Photo: Dr. Sandeep Kumar (IFS).On April 15, 2013, the apex court had directed the Ministry of Environment and Forests to take urgent steps to reintroduce a small number of lions from Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh, in the interest of the survival of the species and to eliminate the risk of extinction in case of an epidemic. The court had also formed a 12 person expert committee to oversee all aspects of the translocation. Following this judgment, the Gujarat state had filed a petition against the order. On August 12, 2014, a three judge bench dismissed the curative petition that sought to stop the translocation of any of Gir's lions. This effectively leaves Gujarat with no legal option but to cooperate in the translocation.
However, even after the dismissal of the petition, new hurdles have cropped up. Camera trap images captured by the Madhya Pradesh forest department have revealed the presence of a tiger in the area demarcated for lion translocation. The tiger has been identified as T-38, a three-year-old from Rajasthan's Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve.
The possibility of conflict between the two species of big cats is a cause for concern for the three state governments, that is further exacerbated by the vehement protests of a Gujarat based NGO. The Wildlife Conservation Trust - Rajkot, is party to a petition filed by the Rajasthan State Government. The petition states the possibility of conflict between the two apex predators because of a corridor that exists between Kuno and Ranthambhore. A 2008 report by the National Tiger Conservation Authority had, indeed, classified Kuno as a ‘tiger occupied area'.
The MP government has now recommended to the Centre that T-38 be fitted with a radio collar to check any possible conflict with lions. Officials from Ranthambhore have also visited Kuno to track T-38 and ascertain its safety there.
While Kuno seems like prime property for both the lion and the tiger, till the translocation actually happens, it is uncertain who the territory will go to.
Author: Cara Tejpal.
