Guj: Forest dept captures lioness involved in attacks in Amreli district

The forest authorities on Monday captured a lioness who had attacked and injured six persons in Gujarat's Amreli district, an official said.

A team from the forest department captured the lioness around 3 am from the mining area of Babarkot village, deputy conservator of forests (Shetrunji division), Jayant Patel said.

The animal was tranquilized with a dart and shifted to a wildlife rescue center at Babarkot, he said.

''We have collected the blood and saliva samples of the lioness to ascertain the reason for the behavior,'' he said.

The big cat terrified locals after it injured three men on Sunday morning and three more in the evening near the village in the Jafrabad range forest. The injured persons were taken to different hospitals for treatment.

As per the census conducted by the state forest department, the lion population rose by 29 percent to 674 in 2020 from 523 recorded in 2015.