Man attacked by lioness in Amreli district, injured

Correspondent, Amreli

A 30 year old man was today attacked by a lioness in Kodiya village in Khamba area of this district where three cases of human killing by the lions of Gir forests, the sole abode of Asiatic lions, has taken place in less than two and a half months time apart from one such death owing to lion attack three days ago in Gir-Somnath district.

DCF of Gir-East Karuppa Samy today said that the incident took place this afternoon when Chandru Vala (30) had gone to a farm to pluck lemon. He has been admitted to the civil hosptial here with several paw caused injures on his back and waist.

Mr Samy said that the forest department has recently caged and shifted 16 big cats (6 adult female, one adult male, 5 sub adult female and 4 sub adult male) of one pride in Dhari Taluka following the killing of an 11 year old boy in Ambardi village on May 20.

A lion had killed the boy sleeping in a farm in the village. Earlier on April 10, a lioness had killed a 50 year old woman in Bharad village under Dhari taluka while she was sleeping in an orchard in the vicinity of the forests with his family members. Prior to that on March 19, a 62-year-old man was also mauled to death by a lion in a similar manner when he was camping at Ambariya village of the district.

Recently in Kodinar taluka of Gir Somnath district, a lion has killed a 70 year old woman while she was in her farm. In all the four cases the beasts ate up the flesh of the deceased giving rise to the suspicion of some of the lions/lioness turning man eaters. Though Mr. Samy denied it saying these were accidental cases.

Earlier after the March incident in Amreli, two lions were nabbed and human bone and a part of cloth of the deceased was detected in the stool of one of them in the animal care center in Shashan.

Amreli district in Gujarat is home to over 170 Asiatic lions as per the census conducted by state government last year while the nearby Gir Somnath district also is home of a vast expanse of the western range of the Gir forests.

– DeshGujarat