Lioness attack in Gujarat caught on camera; forest team searches for big cat

2 min readAhmedabadUpdated: Jul 6, 2026 04:00 PM IST

The Saurashtra region of Gujarat, the only surviving natural habitat of Asiatic lions, has been witnessing increased attacks by the big cats in recent months. (File Photo)

The forest department has launched a hunt to catch a female lion after it injured a person in Garajiya village under Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district on Monday morning.

Meanwhile, the video of the attack, which is the latest in a series of such incidents, has gone viral. In the purported footage, the lioness can be seen sitting on top of the man amid screams from villagers in the periphery.

The injured person, identified as Kalubhai Gamara, a resident of Garajiya village, has been admitted to a hospital for treatment.

Following the incident, the Palitana Wildlife Range office released a statement: “On July 5, a prey was made by a wild lion in the Dharwala region of Sonpari village… the lion reached the revenue area of Garajiya village which is part of its permanent movement corridor.”

“After that, since it was a morning time (of July 6), the movement of villagers had started and they started screaming after sighting presence of a lion resulting in the lion trying to run away causing injury to one person,” the statement added.

In the statement, forest officials have appealed to people not to harass wild animals and to immediately contact them whenever their presence is sighted without first trying to drive away the animals themselves.

The Saurashtra region of Gujarat, the only surviving natural habitat of Asiatic lions, has been witnessing increased attacks by the big cats in recent months. The latest attack is the fifth such incident wherein a person was killed or injured by lions.

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Last month, while visiting the family of a five-year-old boy who was mauled to death by a lioness in the Amreli district, Gujarat Forest and Environment Minister Arjun Modhwadia had stated that the government would take both long-term and short-term measures to prevent such incidents of man-animal conflict.

As per the Lion Population Estimation in 2025, there are 891 lions in Gujarat.

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Parimal A Dabhi works with The Indian Express as Chief of Bureau, focusing on the state of Gujarat. Leveraging his seniority and access, Dabhi is recognized for his reporting on the complex interplay of law, politics, social justice, and governance within the region.

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Asiatic Lions

Gujarat