7 lions die in 10 days in Gir forest, 17 lions isolated

Seven lions have died in Gujarat's Gir forest in ten days, and seventeen animals have been put under isolation, officials said. It is suspected that an outbreak of Babesia, a tick-borne parasite that attacks and destroys red blood cells, is behind the high number of deaths. In 2018, a Babesia outbreak caused the deaths of 11 lions.