Following the apex court's stricture, the Gujarat Government on Saturday admitted that deaths of 23 Asiatic lions were not solely due to infighting and territorial war but some occurred also due to serious infectious disease, canine distemper virus (CDV). The lion deaths occurred in Dalkhania range were due to CDV and babesiosis protozoa infections carried by ticks often found in domestic animals, confirmed the Pune Institute of Virology on the basis of the blood and DNA samples of the deceased lions sent by the Gujarat forest department.