Lioness dies after falling in a farm well in Gujarat

Ahmedabad

The body of a lioness was recovered from a well situated in a farm in Dhokadwa village under Jasadhar range of Gir forests in Amreli district of Gjuarat today, Deputy Conservator of Forest, Dhari, Anshuman Sharma said.

The post-mortem conducted on the dead big cat of around 12 to 13 years of age suggests that it died 36 hours ago and the cause was drowning, Mr. Sharma said.

‘The body was recovered from the well on the information of the farm owner one Mr. Valdania. The farm is situated at hardly a distance of 50 meters from the nearby road. The lioness must have fallen in the well inadvertently. There were foot prints of other lions seen near the well which indicates that the lioness was perhaps not alone when the incident took place. During the post-mortem it was found that her lungs were filled with water and her nails were rubbed, most likely in her battle against the wall of the well as an effort to come out of it, he said.

The place of incident was situated in the Eastern part of the Gir forests, the sole abode of the Asiatic lions which was spread over 1400 square kilometer in four districts including Junagarh and Gir Somnath. The total number of lions in the forest was estimated to be 523 in the census conducted in May this year.

DeshGujarat