Desperate to hold on to its monopoly on the last wild Asiatic lions in the world, Gujarat has come up with new reasons to stall sharing its ‘pride’ with Madhya Pradesh. The central Indian state, says Gujarat, has not done a very good job of conserving its tigers, citing the example of Panna Tiger Reserve, where the big cats have been completely wiped out — as was confirmed by MP Forest Minister Rajendra Shukla just this week. In its response to a Supreme Court case that seeks to create a second habitat for Gujarat’s Gir Sanctuary lions, the state has also argued that tigers and lions cannot coexist.

Gujarat’s response was to a case filed by the Biodiversity Conservation Trust, which had pleaded that it is essential to translocate some Asiatic lions in case an epidemic or some other calamity invades the specie’s single habitat. This idea was pushed earlier by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, and turned down repeatedly by Gujarat.

Now, to defend its stance, Gujarat has cited Madhya Pradesh’s shaky record in conserving tigers as a reason for not parting with its lions. The state has gone on record to cite the recent extinction of tigers from Panna Tiger Reserve as a reason for “concern”, justifying keeping its lions. “While the population of tigers was reducing in many parts of the country including Madhya Pradesh, the Asiatic lion population has increased from 177 in 1968 to more than 350 in 2005,” the affidavit filed by the Gujarat Government says. “A newspaper report saying ‘Experts Fear No Tigers Left in Panna’, also indicates there is enough reason for concern,” it goes on to state.

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