The greatest problem with a medical anomaly in our system is that by the time a disease is detected, it is already too late. By the time a patient undergoes treatment, there’s either not enough time left for survival or one simply doesn’t have enough financial resources to make way for necessary treatment. But that too, is a sort of exclusivity that is only accessible for those among us who have access to timely and much-needed medical care. Now while this is the matter that concerns us human being, what about wild animals? What about those animals, as a matter of fact, wild being that are already facing a precarious situation concerning declining numbers?
As a matter of fact, among the animals that are already slipping past vast numbers and already in close proximity to dangerously declining numbers happens to be the Asiatic Lion.
Population of Asiatic Lions
Not just an elusive creature but a regal one, the 2020 number count in India, where the population of the Asiatic lions is the highest in the entire continent, points to a disappointing one. There were, as of the last year, not even 700 Asiatic lions left in a country that’s revered for its vibrant wildlife diversity.
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But while constant troubles concerning lions have often made headlining material where analogies in everyday life do touch upon this mega beast, one wishes to know if there’s any concrete course of action where safety of this endangered species is concerned?
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To that end, perhaps it is about time to make note of a huge positive development emanating from the very land that homes India’s highest population of the Asiatic lions: Gujarat.
And here’s what you need to know:
The Western state of Gujarat has decided to set up a diagnostic centre specifically to take care of the creature without whom the conception of Indian wildlife can simply not be imagined.
The following is what an Indian daily dealing with finance and economic affairs happened to note about a crucial development:
Gujarat will set up a state-of-the-art disease diagnostic and research facility for the conservation of Asiatic lions and to pre-empt and any fatal infectious diseases, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said.
Speaking during a virtual celebration on the occasion of World Lion Day, which the state government has been celebrating since 2016, Rupani said lions symbolised strength and holiness. The Indian emblem also has three lion faces, he added.
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The Gujarat chief minister added that the lion population had increased 29 per cent in the past five years, adding that the big cat habitat was now spread over 30,000 sq km, covering Gir, Chotila, Amreli, Sayala, and Bhavnagar.
Also Read: The Tiger Population Of India Is Vital Ahead of 2022. But why so?
Rupani said on the diagnostic and research centre that the state-of-the-art facility would ensure that no lions were lost to infectious diseases in the future.
The above being told, the key sets of problems that pose a direct threat to the lives of Asiatic Lions are a gradual loss of habitat as well as the decimation of the Asiatic lions, which happens to be a direct result of hunting.
Let us hope that with such a critical measure being undertaken to safeguard the existence of a truly magnanimous creature, for which tens of hundreds of tourists flock to India each year, can find better fate than currently being experienced.