Bengaluru: In the last week of May, eight Asiatic lions died from what is suspected to be an outbreak of Babesia – a vector-borne protozoan disease – in and around Gir in Gujarat. Seventeen others, including cubs, are undergoing treatment in quarantine centres. Authorities have initiated preventive protocols (such as more intensive monitoring of lions) in adjoining areas.But the verdict is still out on whether it was an outbreak of Babesia, or a combination of Babesia and canine distemper virus (an infectious disease) that killed the lions. It’s been almost ten days since the first deaths, and authorities are still awaiting laboratory results.Though Gujarat’s environment minister said on Sunday (May 31) that the situation is under control and that no lion deaths had occurred since May 29, the incident is a sobering reminder that the Asiatic lion – found only in Gujarat’s Gir and adjoining areas and nowhere else in the world – desperately needs multiple homes.Suspected Babesia outbreakAsiatic lions (Panthera leo leo) – the Asiatic subpopulation of one of the two sub-species of lions in the world – are found only in Gujarat’s Saurashtra region. This population is listed as Endangered by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. According to the latest census conducted by Gujarat, the population of Asiatic lions is looking up: it increased from 674 individuals to 891 between 2020-2025. But eight of those lions died in the last week of May – and in quick succession. Another 17 are currently undergoing treatment in quarantine centres in the state. Authorities suspect that babesiosis may be to blame. The disease is caused by microscopic Babesia protozoa that destroy the red blood cells of an infected animal. Small, blood-sucking insects called ticks are carriers of the protozoa. The pathogen is usually prevalent in the ecosystem and does not normally cause mass mortality, said Y.V. Jhala, Senior Scientist of the Indian National Science Academy at the National Centre for Biological Sciences. Jhala, who retired from the Wildlife Institute of India, has studied Asiatic lions in Gujarat. However, in cases of severe stress due to any reason (other infections, nutrition, injury or lack of immune response) this blood parasite can cause deaths, Jhala said. “Authorities need to check for co-infections, especially canine distemper as that can be a serious concern,” he added.Canine distemper is a viral disease whose symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, loss of appetite and lethargy. This is a highly infectious disease too. It has no cure.Canine distemper and Babesia co-occurring is a concern because it was this combination that killed around 1,000 lions in the Serengeti in Africa in the 1990s, Jhala told The Wire.Caption: The range of the Asiatic lion Panthera leo (Asian sub-population). Source: IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Still awaiting lab results So what caused the lion deaths in and around Gir in the last week of May? Authorities still do not know for sure.On June 2, Gujarat forest minister Arjun Modhwadia said the findings from the Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre are expected “in a day or two” and that the laboratory was “examining all possibilities”, Times of India reported. The report quoted an unnamed conservationist as asking what the lions that have been quarantined are being treated for, if authorities do not know what disease caused the deaths in the first place.On Sunday, Modhwadia had said that there had been no deaths since May 29, and that everything was ‘under control’. The Wire reached out via calls to the Chief Wildlife Warden of Gujarat, Jaipal Singh, for an update on the issue but he was not reachable.Meanwhile, numerous preventive measures are in place. Forest personnel in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district have intensified surveillance, deworming and de-tick measures for lions, PTI reported. Lions in adjoining areas (within a 10-km radius of affected areas) have been isolated. However, it is unclear how this has been done.No strangers to diseaseAsiatic lions have succumbed to diseases in the past. In 2018, canine distemper killed at least 11 lions in and around Gir. In 2020, around 30 lions died in a span of three months possibly due to Babesia.“We have been lucky that despite these recorded deaths since 2018, the lion population doesn’t seem to have been much affected,” said Ravi Chellam, CEO of the Metastring Foundation and coordinator at the Biodiversity Collaborative. Though official figures show that the total number of lions has been steadily increasing at least over the last four decades, we may be underestimating lion mortality due to diseases, he said.“The Gujarat government’s reports on lion mortalities do mention a fairly significant number of deaths due to diseases,” he told The Wire.Any disease outbreak is a cause for concern when it affects a population of an endangered species, he added. Since Asiatic lions are inbred, it is likely that their immunity is compromised – making them even more vulnerable. Gujarat’s prides need more homes“To add to the risk, the Asiatic lions exist as a single population of which about 50% live in human-dominated habitats and are exposed to a range of domestic animals and their carcasses and the pathogens they carry,” Chellam told The Wire. “The fact that all members of an endangered species exist as a single wild population places them at great risk especially from disease outbreaks.”This is something that Chellam, who has been involved with the conservation of Asiatic lions in Gir for decades, has repeatedly raised concerns about. Other experts also hold the same stance.“We now have close to a thousand lions. A better option for conservation of the Asiatic lions is to establish multiple populations distant from each other within their historical range so that the spread of any catastrophic mortality is minimised,” said Jhala. Their new homes could be in other areas in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Jhala told The Wire.The Indian government had identified Kuno National Park for the translocation of Asiatic lions. Even the Supreme Court ordered the government to proceed with this in 2013. However, this has not yet been implemented. Instead, the Union government brought in African cheetahs in 2022 to Kuno, to get its ambitious Project Cheetah going. Today, Kuno is home to around 50 cheetahs while India’s very own Asiatic lions have no alternative home – yet.