AHMEDABAD(National Times)- Eight Asiatic lion cubs have died in India’s Gir forest reserve over the past week, prompting concern over the health of the world’s only wild population of the endangered species.

The Gir National Park, in the western state of Gujarat, is the last remaining natural habitat of Asiatic lions, whose numbers have risen from 627 to 891 in five years, according to a census, reflecting conservation success even as new risks emerge.

The recent string of deaths may be linked to babesiosis, a tick-borne parasitic disease, said Arjun Modhwadia, the state’s forest and environment minister, citing preliminary findings and cautioning that laboratory confirmation is awaited.

“The exact cause will be confirmed after analysis, but initial indications point towards babesiosis,” he told reporters in Gandhinagar.