Lioness traced and caged after it injures 3 in village in Amreli

An Asiatic lioness on Friday was tranquilised and caged by officials of the state’s Forest Department after the animal attacked and injured three people in the Rajula taluka of Amreli. Officials said that her samples were sent for laboratory testing to confirm if she had become rabid.

The lioness was rescued late on Friday night after wildlife trackers managed to trace her in the Vavera village in the Rajula range of Shetrunji Wildlife Division. The lioness was sent to a wildlife rescue centre where she has been kept under observation. The Forest Department intervened after the lioness attacked a man and a woman when they were working on an agricultural field in Vavera village on Friday morning. The victims were identified as Vijay Solanki and Manju Solanki. After the attack, the staff of the Forest Department started searching for the lioness. However, before they could track and locate her, the lioness attacked one more person, identified as Dinesh Sankhant, in another part of the village. Eventually, the Forest Department managed to locate her at around 9 pm and tranquilised her. She was caged and shifted to a wildlife rescue centre.

“The lioness was rescued as she displayed abnormal behaviour,” Jayan Patel, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) of Shetrunji Wildlife Division, told The Sunday Express, adding that Asiatic lions generally don’t attack humans without provocation. The DCF said that a veterinary officer (VO) of the Forest Department has drawn samples of the lioness to ascertain if she has contracted the Rabies virus. “Primarily, our VO suggested that maybe, due to central nervous disorder, some animals might display this kind of behaviour,” Patel further said.