A pair of lions brutally mauled a 17-year-old girl to death in a village near Junagadh late on Monday, sending shock waves in the area, as a growing population of wild cats is increasingly venturing out of its traditional habitat.
The lions pounced on Bhavna, who was accompanied by her cousin and ventured out around 10 p.m. to answer nature’s call. The lions attacked her, dragged her for nearly 100 m and ate up parts of her body.
According to Forest Department officials, since the victim had wrapped a blanket around herself while going out, the lions mistook her as an animal to be preyed upon.
“They had gone to attend nature’s call in the open and wore a shawl or blanket. It looks like the lions, which are often seen at farms in the village, mistook her for an animal,” said S.K. Srivastava, Chief Conservator of Forest (Junagadh range).
The victim was from a family of migrant agriculture labourers from the tribal district of Panchmahal and had shifted to a village in Junagadh to work at farms.
Cows killed
In another incident, a pride of 10 lions attacked a cowshed and killed around eight cows, creating pandemonium in a village near the Junagadh forest range.
Recently, a group of lions was seen roaming in villages of Rajkot district, almost 150 km away from their traditional habitat in Gir forest.
As per a count in June this year, the lion population has grown by almost 29% over the last five years and now stands at 674, according to the State Forest Department. This includes 161 males, 260 females, 45 sub-adult males, 49 sub-adult females, 22 unidentified and 137 cubs. There has been a steady increase in the population over the years.
The lions’ distribution has also expanded from 22,000 sq.km. in 2015 to 30,000 sq.km. in 2020. Asiatic lions are present in protected areas and agro-pastoral landscapes of Saurashtra in several districts.
