Disaster experiment at Indian zoo

21 lions are dying slowly in a zoo in northern India after an experiment for cross-breeding to increase the attractiveness of the zoo has made serious mistakes.

Two sickly hybrid lions in the nursing home at Chhatbir zoo.(Photo: Reuters, VNE)

The lion hybrids walked very hard, when running often lagged behind because their hind legs were very weak. And in the mid-1990s, this big cat - which had a lifespan of 20 years in captivity - showed symptoms of immune system decline.

By 2000, when the mating program ended, and male lions were vasectomy to stop fertility, the hybrid lion population in the zoo was already 70-80.

So far, their populations are slowly shrinking, in part because of illness, others die because of the wounds their homosexuals cause.

Officials said they were waiting for the population to "completely withdraw" before starting to breed pure Asian lions.

"But we still work hard to help them die gently," said a zoo official. "We create all the conditions for them to live happily in the last years of life. Some older lions are even fed with bone-drawn meat pieces ."

Last year the zoo opened a special zoning area, away from the main conservation area, where lions were too weak to protect themselves. It was dubbed the " nursing home ".

Asian lions are currently only found in India. About 300 such individuals live in Gir National Park in the western state of Gujarat. In the mid-20th century, their population was less than 15 due to hunting. Now, the number is increasing after a breeding program was carried out at Gir sanctuary in the 1960s.

T. An