The doubts stem from the fact that they do not have the exact count of lions that have died -- poisoned or electrocuted by villagers scared of their depredations, shot by poachers, or killed in accidents such as falls into wells, not to mention natural deaths, which are impossible to detect because they die in places inaccessible to humans, and the carcasses decompose fast.

Though the department does document unnatural deaths, including deaths due to injury in fights with other lions for territory, there is the likelihood of many going unnoticed.

Deputy Conservator B P Pati claims the figure of 304 could have gone up because of the births that have taken place since the census. But hehas no count of the births. Nor does he take into account an estimated 50-odd lions which have either been poisoned or shot to death since the last census by poachers, such as the dreaded Hamal Hassan.

In '96-97 three lions -- a full grown male, a sub-adult, and a lioness -- were shot dead by poachers within a span of eight months. Two other lions, shot and buried by poachers in June 1996, were detected only in May 1997. In '97-98, 12 lions died. In '98-99, 14 lions, including some cubs died. And last month two lions were electrocuted by a live fence put up by a villager, who then buried the carcasses.

Forest officers admit the deaths have increased in the last couple of years. They say this is because human movement in the forests, especially of pilgrims to the several temples, is forcing lions to move to the periphery of the forest. Here they are prey to villagers. To protect their cattle, villagers kill lions by poisoning water troughs.

A senior forest officer admitted: `Gir lions are vulnerable tomore kinds of accidents and unnatural deaths than in any protected area in the world because of the location of the sanctuary.'

And Pati also said, `We cannot deny that incidents of poisoning or poaching are happening. There may be lion deaths which we do not know of.''