Rajkot: The forest department on Thursday identified a man suspected of bludgeoning a lion cub to death in Junagadh district—a rare and brutal case in the Asiatic lion habitat.Although the offence registered by the department does not name any individual, Akshay Joshi, deputy conservator of forests (DCF), Junagadh, confirmed that officials are searching for a resident of a ness (pastoral settlement) in the Dungar South range.A postmortem revealed that the cub, estimated to be between six and eight months old, had suffered severe head injuries and a fractured leg. Officials believe the injuries were inflicted with a blunt object, possibly a wooden stick.The cub’s carcass was discovered on Wednesday near a ness during a search operation launched after another cub was rescued from a well in a residential society in Junagadh city a day earlier. Forest officials said three cubs had been moving together as a group.The prime suspect, a resident of the ness, has been missing for the past two days. While he is believed to be mentally unstable, forest officials and local police have joined forces to trace him. His mobile phone remains switched off.“We don’t know the exact motive because the nails and other body parts are intact, ruling out traditional poaching,” Joshi told TOI.He said many cubs die during territorial fights or infighting. However, the injuries in this case clearly indicate that they were caused by a weapon.Evidence recovered from a house located about 200m from where the carcass was found includes an axe with suspected lion hair on its handle and an empty cement bag that investigators believe may have been used to transport the animal.Meanwhile, the department is also examining a post on X by an individual who called for killing lions whenever encountered. The post read, “Nothing else can be done now. If a lion is encountered, people feel they have no option but to kill it, as neither the forest department nor the govt seems to care.”Principal chief conservator of forest Jaipal Singh said, “We have seen this post and efforts are being made to trace the individual. Strict action will be taken for making such provocative calls.”
