South African lion cubs give hope

New hope

• Sir - It is a matter of great joy that a lioness in South Africa successfully gave birth to two cubs who were conceived with the help of in vitro fertilization. The newborns - a male and a female - are the first "test tube" lion cubs in the world, and spark new hope that the endangered big cat species can be saved from extinction. Recently, the world's last male northern white rhino died, rendering his species nearly extinct. Given the destruction wrought by human beings on the natural world, the same fate awaits species such as lions and tigers, unless steps are taken to make their numbers grow.

Gayatri Ganapathy,

Bangalore
Historic haul

• Sir - India's performance at the recently-concluded Asian Games in Jakarta is a matter of immense pride. The 572 Indian athletes - 312 men and 260 women - who participated in just 36 sports clocked the nation's highest-ever medal tally at the Asiad, with 69 medals. What is most encouraging and humbling, however, is that most of the medallists belong to poor families from far-flung areas of the country. Their performances show that there is immense talent in India just waiting to be tapped. These skills can be properly harnessed if the government introduces better infrastructure and training facilities for athletes.

M.F.U. Tandvi,

Mumbai

• Sir - The athletes who represented India at the Asian Games deserve to be lauded for the nation's best-ever medal haul in the history of the tournament. Track and field athletes did very well. However, Indian teams performed disappointingly in kabaddi and men's hockey - sports in which they were the favourites to win. We would have also been happier had our players done better in archery, shooting and wrestling. The Tokyo Olympics is just two years away. There is an urgent need to ensure that the Asiad medallists keep their winning momentum going so that they can make a mark at the most important international sporting tournament.

Khokan Das,

Calcutta

• Sir - India ended its Asian Games campaign this year with its highest-ever medal tally at the tournament. The 69 medals won include 15 gold, 24 silver and 30 bronze medals. Our sportspersons deserve to be feted for their admirable performances. They have shown that the condition of sports in India has improved, however marginally. But India should not rest on its laurels and be satisfied with its showing at the Asiad, as it still lags far behind other countries such as China, Japan and South Korea in the sporting arena. The minister of youth affairs and sports, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, must take steps to improve training and coaching facilities for our athletes.

Mohd. Usmani,

Mumbai

• Sir - The Asian Games in Jakarta that ended earlier this month turned out to be India's best outing at the quadrennial tournament. The medal haul also highlights the contribution of people from different religious faiths towards bringing glory to the nation. This sends out a very important message: a nation in which the people are united can progress and develop in leaps and bounds, whereas one in which people are divided by religion will get nowhere. Our athletes must be held up as role models.

Mohd. Tariq,

Mumbai
Time for change

• Sir - It was heartening to learn that the Union health ministry has decided to implement a 'charter of patients' rights' which, among other benefits, gives patients the freedom to purchase medicine and get tests done from wherever they choose, irrespective of the centres recommended by doctors or hospitals ("Charter to uphold patients' rights", Sept 1). The charter also outlines patients' right to get information about their illnesses, possible complications, tests required and additional expenses that may crop up. Clinics and hospitals have to provide emergency medical care to any patient irrespective of their ability to pay. Private hospitals and doctors often force patients to get unnecessary tests done from the places they recommend. Patients and their families do not even know what hospitals are going to charge at the time of discharge, as they include absurd costs in the bill to hike the final amount. It is hoped that the charter will help curb such unfair practices.

Kiran Agarwal,

Calcutta
Parting shot

• Sir - Last month, I had left my jacket in the air-conditioned chair car of the Shantiniketan Express. Given the reputation of the Indian Railways with regard to the retrieval of misplaced or stolen belongings, I had no hope of getting it back. Even so, just before boarding the Shantiniketan Express back to Howrah a few days later, I decided to enquire about my jacket. I was pleasantly surprised at the response. The station masters, the chief ticket inspector and their team at the Bolpur station rushed to help me. Phone calls were made to other stations to trace the item, and I was eventually told to go to the office of the deputy station master (commercial) at the Howrah station. The jacket was even kept in safe custody for a few more days so that I could collect it at my convenience. I was overwhelmed at the efficiency and helpfulness I was shown.

Satyajit Das Gupta,

Calcutta

We Need To Know More About These Interesting Facts About African Lion

A few months back, I was bored at home and had nothing much to do after I am done doing my work. So, I switched on my TV and stumbled across a documentary about African Lion. I was amazed at how the female African lions are the ones that are always hunting for food. All these while, the dumb me thinks that the male lions are the one that hunts, purely because they are better build than their female counterparts.

1. Male lions protect the pride

Instead of hunting, male lions protect its pride while the females hunt for food. This is actually a good idea as the male lion has a mane that can actually makes its face look bigger and intimidating. And it can terrify any animals, not only with its looks, but with its loud, thunderous roar, that tries to sneak into its territory, including lions from a different pride.

2. Female lions go on hunting with 2-4 lioness

Like I said, the female is the one that goes for the hunting spree. This is in contrast with many other living things. However, female lions do not go hunting alone. For better success of hunting, they will go in groups, usually between 2-4 lioness.

Usually, one of them will try to go near its target, stealthily. When it reaches near it, it will make a sudden burst of speed towards its prey in order to try to pin it down. If that doesn't succeed, they will use a more advance tactic.

Two of them will go near their prey openly. The sight of these predators will already make its prey scramble from its place. However, that is actually what they wanted as they are actually making their prey run to a direction where another two lionesses are hiding and waiting to pounce.

But even when they have successfully taken down their prey, the have a certain hierarchy as to who are allowed to eat first. Usually, the dominant male among the pride will be tasting it first, followed by the lionesses and the cubs.

3. Being lazy

I am surprised about African lions in that they are not doing anything if they are not eating or hunting. I mean, come on! They are the king of all animals and they should move around and gain control of more territory or something. But no. They choose to relax and sun tan.

4. Mating Season

Now comes the interesting part. The male lion will become more aggressive during this period. Usually, the younger and lesser dominant male lion will leave its pride in order to fight for the top spot of other pride. Usually, there will be a confrontation between the older lion of some other pride against a younger lion. If the older lion loses, it will leave its pride and the younger one will take over.

The sad part when that happens is that the young cubs of that older lion will be eliminated. This is because the younger one can breed his own offspring so that his own offspring can take over his throne.