A pride of lions roamed the streets of a Gujarat village late in the night as everyone slept, being discovered only when shop owners reviewed surveillance footage the next morning.
Videos showed at least four lionesses roaming freely in Rampur village late on August 13. At times, they went close to cattle in the street but did not attack any animal.
Rampar, in Amreli district, falls in the east range of the Gir wildlife sanctuary, which is the last home of the Asiatic lion.
{{/usCountry}}Rampar, in Amreli district, falls in the east range of the Gir wildlife sanctuary, which is the last home of the Asiatic lion.
{{/usCountry}}Once considered harmless, attacks by Asiatic lions on humans rose to an alarming level last year after which as many 18 big cats were taken into captivity.
Villagers said the pride that entered Rampur had 10 to 12 big cats.
“The pride arrived in the dead of night. It didn’t create any problem and even spared cattle that came in its way. Villagers came to know about the incident when shop owners checked CCTV footages in the morning,” said Dilip Jiruka, a local photographer.
Foresters and villagers said it is not uncommon for lions to enter villages in the sanctuary’s periphery. Such incidents have seen a rise with the growing lion population spreading out.
Nearly half of the 523 lions (according to 2015 census) in the Gir region lives outside the 1,412 square-km sanctuary.
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