Lioness carcass recovered from Gir East, foul play ruled out; elsewhere Lioness attacks a farmer; elsewhere Leopard falls in open well

26-12-07

Lioness carcass recovered from Gir East, foul play ruled out; elsewhere Lioness attacks a farmer; elsewhere Leopard falls in open well

Indian Express By Sibte Hussain Bukhari

http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Lioness-carcass-recovered-from-Gir-East-foul-play-ruled-out/254392/

Junagadh, December 25 The carcass of a full grown lioness was found on Tuesday from the Gir East forest division, while in two separate incidents, a lioness along with her cub attacked a farmer injuring him badly, while a a leopard which had fallen into a well near Keshod, was rescued unhurt and released again.

Forest officials said, the carcass of a lioness aged about six years was found lying on the forest floor in Bhania, under the Tulshishyam range in Gir East forest division.

Deputy conservator of forest (Gir East) J S Solanki, said, prima facie it did not seem to be a case of foul play.

"All claws and organs were found intact. A panel comprising three veterinary doctors has conducted a post-mortem on the spot, but the exact cause of the death has not been established. We have dispatched the animal's viscera to veterinary college —Anand and Forensic Science Laboratory — Junagadh, for a detailed clinical examination. Only after receiving these reports, will the exact cause of death be ascertained," he said.

 

Meanwhile, in another incident on Monday afternoon, a lioness attacked Bhana Koli, a farmer, on the outskirts of Vajadi village near Una. Koli received injuries on the chest and on his leg. He, however, showed great courage and fought with the big cat, which escaped from the scene. Koli was admitted to the Government Hospital at Una, where he is said to be out of danger.

According to forest officials, the lioness and her cubs had become a frequent visitor to the revenue area outside Gir. On Monday, forest department officials had commenced on an exercise to locate the feline and her cubs, when the big cat chanced upon Koli in a maize field, and pounced on him.

Elsewhere, on Thursday, a full grown leopard was evacuated from a well, located on the outskirts of Bhanduri village in Keshod taluka. When informed, trekkers and a rescue team from Sasan Gir forest rushed to the spot. Deputy Conservator of forest (Girnar range) B T Chadhasania said, "rescue operations were completed this afternoon. The leopard has been rescued un-hurt and released in the forest."