In first ever entry of Asiatic lions in Surendranagar district of Gujarat, two big cats seen by villagers, forest department confirms the presence

Junagadh/Surendranagar: In what is being termed as the first ever entry of Asiatic lions of Gir forests in to the Surendranagar district, a lioness and a sub adult lion have been seen near Dhedhuki village and areas around Chotila where the beasts have also killed a few animals in the last two to three days, a senior forest official today said.

The video of the lioness and the lion had gone viral after which the forest department did the physical verification and found it to be true.

‘One lioness and one sub-adult lion aged around 2 to 2 and half years have been found in Dhakuli- Vichiya Rajkot and Chobara-Rampara- of Chotila Surendranagar today . Their route is most likely from Babra vidi -Ambardi ( Jasdan taluka) -Umath (Jasdan )- Hingolgadh (Jasdan) – Dharai( Chotila) – Ajmer ( Vichiya taluka). It appears that most likely they have lost their way as there is no adult male lion in the group. And they most likely may go back. Staff is keeping a watch on the movement and also interacting with villagers. There is no panic situation in the area but people are definitely very excited. People are requested not to worry as lion are used to staying in close vicinity of people without harming them in any way. As far as the killing of cattle is concerned department provides suitable compensation promptly,’ CCF – Junagadh S K Srivastava said.

He said that in the last 7 to 8 decades there was no record of lions entry in to any part of Surendranagar district.

‘The kill by the beasts in the area shows that they were roaming around in the area for the last 2 to 3 days. We hope that they would return at their own,’ the CCF added.

Notably, the Gir forests spread over 1800 sq km in Junagadh, Gir Somnath and Amreli and parts of Bhavnagar districts in Saurashtra region is the only natural abode of Asiatic lions. It is 70 to 80 km away from Chotila in Surendranagar district. According to the last lions census of 2015, there were over 500 lions in the forest.

DeshGujarat