A two-year-old lioness attacked and injured five people in Kachivada village near Gir forest. The forest officials termed the incident ‘very strange’ as generally lions do not attack, until they are being poked by someone. Sources in the State forest department claimed that the lioness had separated from its pride and might have strayed into the village situated in Amreli district.
“As the villagers saw the lioness running around the streets, tension mounted. Even the animal was feared and attacked whosoever came in her way. Initially, the big cat injured a couple of people. Following the incident, the villagers gathered and started making noises in order to run the animal out of the village. However, the frightened lioness reacted unexpectedly and injured two more villagers,” said a forest official.
Following a phone call from villagers, a rescue team of the forest department rushed to the village to cage the stray lioness. After almost two hours of hard work, the rescue team tranquilised the animal and caged her. However, in the process, it injured one forest guard as well.
All the injured persons have been sent to a hospital in nearby Mahuva town, situated in Bhavnagar district. “The caged lioness will be kept under observation for few days at Jasadhar range of Gir forest. If the condition of the lioness is found normal, the lioness would be released in the forest,” said the official.