Ahmedabad: The Gujarat government on Wednesday informed the Assembly that 1,966 cattle owners in the Gir region of Amreli district were paid Rs 1.43 crore as compensation for livestock killed by lions, leopards and other wild animals. Forest minister Arjun Modhwadia shared the details during the ongoing budget session, stating that the payments were made to owners who lost cattle in frequent wildlife attacks reported from the Gir region. According to data tabled in the House, 920 cattle owners...Read More

Gir: In two separate incidents in the Gir region, a five-year-old boy was killed in a lion attack in Dhari taluka, while in another incident in Girgadhda, an eight-year-old girl was rescued by her mother after a lioness grabbed her in its mouth. According to forest officials, the first incident occurred in Manavav village of the Sarsia range in Dhari (Gir East), where a migrant family was living on a farm owned by Anakbhai Lakhubhai Wala. The victim, Dhawal Ishwarbhai Katara (5), was attacked b...Read More

Gandhinagar: Fresh data on the lion population and mortality in Gujarat has been tabled in the State Assembly, revealing significant figures related to both conservation efforts and deaths over the past two years. As of January 31, 2026, the state is home to 255 adult male lions, 405 lionesses, and 231 cubs, according to official data presented in the House. However, alongside the population details, the mortality figures have raised concerns. Between 2024 and January 2026, a total of 322 lion...Read More

Gir: A routine early-morning passenger train journey near the Gir forest briefly turned tense when a pride of 10 lions was spotted on the tracks, but swift action by the loco pilot averted a possible disaster. On Monday, the Veraval–Junagadh passenger train was passing through the Sasan Gir–Kansiyanesh section when the loco pilot, Ramavatar Meena, noticed the lions ahead in low light. He and co-pilot Sonu Sharma immediately applied emergency brakes, bringing the train to a halt in time an...Read More

Amreli: Two Asiatic lions died in separate incidents reported from the Amreli and Gir Somnath districts in the Saurashtra region of the state. One lion, around two years old, fell into an open well in Kankot village of Liliya taluka. According to details, local residents spotted the fallen lion in the well and informed the forest department. Upon receiving the information, a forest department team, including the Liliya Range RFO, immediately reached the spot and brought the lion out of the well...Read More

New Delhi: For the safety of wildlife in Gir forest, apart from the existing two underpasses for lion movement, construction work for 5 more lion underpasses has been taken up. In addition, work for implementation of an Artificial Intelligence based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for monitoring lion movement has been sanctioned covering 115 km in the Damnagar-Pipavav section of the Bhavnagar Division of Western Railway, located within the Gir National Park and Lion Wildlife Sanctuary. The syst...Read More

Amreli: Forest officials have arrested a civil engineer from the Gandhinagar Police Housing Corporation in connection with the death of a lioness that was run over on the Bhavnagar–Somnath National Highway near the Nageshri toll plaza in Jafrabad taluka. The forest department said the lioness, estimated to be three to five years old, died on the spot after being hit by a vehicle two days ago. Forest staff rushed to the site, and CCTV footage from the toll plaza was later analysed, leading t...Read More

Gir: In a striking example of wildlife intersecting with human infrastructure, Asiatic lions were recently seen crossing railway tracks inside Gir National Park. The moment was captured in videos shared by wildlife enthusiast and Rajya Sabha MP Parimal Nathwani. In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), a lioness is seen calmly leading her cubs across the tracks amid a serene forest backdrop. Nathwani described the scene as “quiet and beautiful,” yet fraught with “invisible danger,” em...Read More

Pauri Garhwal: Acharya Balkrishna of Patanjali Yogpeeth has ignited a wave of curiosity across social media after claiming that an Asiatic lion was spotted in the state of Uttarakhand. According to a post shared by Balkrishna, the big cat from Gir jungle was sighted at the Herbal World Himalaya at Shri Dhanvantari Dham, located in the Pauri Garhwal district. Balkrishna accompanied his claim with two photographs of the lion, describing the event as a phenomenon that is “beyond imagination,” ...Read More

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday drew a cultural parallel between India and Ethiopia, saying he felt “very much at home” in the African nation as both Ethiopia and his home state Gujarat are known as the land of lions. Beginning his address at a joint session of the Ethiopian Parliament, PM Modi said, “It is wonderful to be here in Ethiopia, the land of lions. I feel very much at home. Because my home state Gujarat in India is also home to lions.” He desc...Read More