Etawah: The death toll at Etawah’s Lion Safari has become the latest flashpoint in the Samajwadi Party–BJP political war, with SP chief Akhilesh Yadav accusing the Yogi Adityanath government of “deliberate neglect” of a legacy project linked to party founder Mulayam Singh Yadav.
From 2014 to July 2025, 34 lions—including cubs—have died in the safari, which Mulayam had envisioned as a symbol of Chambal’s transformation from a bandit-infested ravine to a roaring wildlife destination. In the past year alone, five cubs died soon after birth.
“This was Netaji’s dream. But this government has neither sanctioned budgets nor appointed trained doctors. The result is dead lions and wasted potential,” SP leaders charged in Lucknow, adding that the BJP “would rather let the safari crumble than maintain a project associated with the Samajwadi Party.”
Data accessed by this paper shows that after the safari’s lion breeding centre started in 2014, deaths stayed in single digits until 2022. The worst year was 2023, when 10 lions died. In 2024, six cubs died, and by mid-2025, three of the four cubs born to lioness Roopa had perished. Another litter from lioness Neerja last year saw only two of four cubs survive.
Safari director Anil Kumar Patel said cub mortality is a challenge worldwide. “Only about 30% of cubs survive. If the mother is a first-time breeder, the chances drop further as she may abandon them. We have managed to push survival rates to around 50% by hand-rearing abandoned cubs.”
Symbol of a legacy
For the SP, the safari is not just a tourism project but a political emblem. Conceived by Mulayam in 2006 and revived by Akhilesh in 2012, it was formally opened to the public in November 2019 by the Yogi government. It currently houses 19 lions—five males, six females, and eight cubs—and draws around 1,000 visitors daily.
Yet, insiders say the state government releases funds only for staff salaries, not for infrastructure upgrades or specialist care. “You can’t run a premier wildlife project on token money,” a senior safari official told this reporter.
Wildlife meets politics
Wildlife experts say some cub deaths are natural, but conservationist Ajay Dubey points out the political pattern. “Cheetahs in Kuno were tied to PM Modi’s image. The Etawah Safari is tied to Mulayam Singh Yadav’s. Governments milk the optics but skimp on long-term conservation.”
A senior official said: “Whatever expansion the safari saw happened under SP. Since 2017, the pace has slowed, and it shows. For the BJP, investing heavily in this project means acknowledging Mulayam’s vision. That is politically inconvenient.”
With the assembly bypoll season heating up, SP leaders are expected to amplify the issue, framing the lion deaths as proof that the Yogi government is willing to let Mulayam’s dream die—literally.
