One of the world’s most charismatic predators, the Asiatic Lion, prefers wild prey for their meals. A report, alluding to recent study, claims that Asiatic Lions aren’t interested in consuming domesticated livestock inside and outside Gir’s Protected Areas (PA).
The scat analysis, based on samples from within the Gir PA and 441 from outside it, revealed that the big cats have been having more wild prey in both habitats, protected and multi-use.
According to the scat study, the lion diet comprises 74% wild prey species and 26% domestic livestock inside the Gir PA and 51% wild prey and 42% domestic livestock outside it.
The study adds that lions prefer sambar (130 kg) and nilgai (180 kg), all big species, instead of spotted deer (45 kg), wild pig (32 kg), and four-horned antelope (12 kg).
Interestingly, with this kind of meal preference, these lions are inadvertently doing phenomenal service to humankind. Wild pigs and nilgai cause severe crop damage.
The news report, citing an earlier Wildlife Institute of India study, highlighted that cattle comprised 47% of the lion diet inside PA and 76% outside.
Further, the findings revealed that lions ate 12 species within the protected areas and 11 outside them.
As a side-text, Gir lions are dangerously venturing out to the roads owing to a lack of space in the PAs. Two years ago, the social media circulated clips of a pride of lions roaming on the streets in Gujarat. Mankind better be aware.
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