A deadly combination of canine distemper virus and babesiosis, a disease caused by tick-borne parasites, is killing Asiatic lions in the Gir forest sanctuary in Gujarat, western India, according to government officials. So far, 24 lions have died, and the latest death, a cub, was reported on October 15.
The disease outbreak, which started a month ago, has sounded alarm bells among conservationists, and aroused a debate over how to protect the endangered species. The contagious virus poses a threat to the survival of the remaining of the 523 big cats (Panthera leo persica) that live across 1,884 square kilometers in the Gir forest region.
Scientists at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune, revealed on October 9 in a press statement that the deaths were due to canine distemper virus (CDV). “One or more samples from 21 out of 27 Gir lions have tested ...
