Chandigarh, Feb. 17: Gujarat has been asked if it can contribute a “lion’s share” towards solving a Punjab problem.

The Mahendra Chaudhary Zoological Park authorities near Chandigarh have requested the Gujarat government to send a pair of Asian lions to save a dying breed.

The number of lions in the safari — a 26-acre enclosure within the zoo — has dwindled from over 85 in the early 1990s to nine. Most of the deaths occurred because African lions brought from circuses were put together with the Asian lions originally kept there.

The hybrid lions born of the breeding between the two different varieties were so weak that many died within a few years of being born; others lived with diseases.

“There are only a few of the hybrid lions left in the safari and they are on their last legs,” said zoo director Dharminder Sharma. He didn’t explain why the two species had been put together, disregarding established wildlife regulations that do not allow such mixing of breeds, but only said the lapse had taken place “inadvertently”.

“The trouble began when some African lions from circuses were kept with Asian lions. The zookeepers were then not aware of the importance of conserving pure genetic stock,” Sharma said.

After the authorities realised the problems such breeding had caused, the lions were vasectomised in 1998. So, much of the pack left now are between 12 and 16 years of age. Wildlife experts say most lions are known to live 15 to 20 years in captivity.

“The hybrids born from the Asiatic and African lions and their subsequent inbreeding weakened the bloodline and damaged their gene pool,” Sharma said. There also appeared to be a problem of overcrowding.