Pride of Gir finally in cage after ten-day chase by Forest Department

Ten days ago, a full-grown lioness and her three cubs (not full-grown) had come out of Dhari, the north side sanctuary area of Gir forest and reached Rajkot district, more than 150 kilometres from the sanctuary. Forest teams of Rajkot, Sasan and Dhari consisting of more than 60 personnel including veterinary doctors and senior officers had been after the lions ever since.

When contacted, Lalit Parmar, the Rajkot District Forest Officer who was part of this mission said: “This was the first such long operation in Gir forest. It was a terrific experience for all of us who followed the lions for 10 days and 10 nights non-stop through farms and grasslands.”

He added: “On the night of October 30 (Thursday), we captured one ‘Pathdo’ (half grown) lion and then on Friday we tranquillised the lioness. On Saturday night, another half grown lion was captured and a few hours later, early on Sunday, we finally captured the fourth in a ring cage set up in the grassland. The entire forest staff had been camping in the grassland for the last four days and had installed seven ring cages at various places by cordoning off the entire grassland. It took us long to complete the operation, as the area was unknown to us and the topography was new. We are satisfied that neither the lions nor humans were hurt in the process.”

All the four captured lions were sent to the Sakkarbaug Zoo on Sunday. According to Forest Department sources, the lioness and her cubs had strayed into human habitat on three occasions in the past. Every time, the forest staff had captured and taken them back to the forest. Fortunately, a radio collar was tied around the lioness’ neck, which helped the foresters to locate her easily.