Last year in September Gujarat forest department was at the receiving end of a lot of flak because 23 Asiatic lions had died in the Gir forest owing to a canine distemper virus (CDV) epidemic.

Madhya Pradesh governmenthas been fighting with the Gujarat government for shifting of lions to its state as a second home for the wild cats. However, the order hasn’t been implemented by the latter since the judgement was passed in 2013.

While neighbouring states like Rajasthan house many tigers, Gujarat isn’t home to tigers at all. PTI reported in January this year the last time a tiger was spotted in Gujarat was way back in 1985. Now, over three decades later, a census has been planned next month to ascertain the presence of the striped animal in the forest of Dang district.Click Here: NRL Telstra Premiership