Lioness spotted on bridge, traffic halts at Gujarat

Vadodara, Mar 21: Traffic came to a halt after an Asiatic lioness was spotted roaming on a bridge in Gujarat's Amreli district, forest officials said today.

The lioness was last night spotted on the bridge at Pipavav under Rajula taluka of Amreli, because of which the traffic movement there stopped for about 20 minutes.

Later, the feline got down from the bridge and disappeared. Deputy Conservator of Forest, Amreli Range, Mohan Rahul said the lioness, who had possibly strayed from its habitat, did not hurt anybody before it disappeared.

Some passengers of a bus and several bikers saw the lioness walking along the bridge at Pipavav and later crossing it, he said.

Two days back, a 62-year-old man was reportedly mauled to death by a lion when he was camping at Ambariya village in Amreli.

Gir houses about 523 Asiatic lions, as per the census conducted in May last year. Out of the total, 268 lions are in Junagadh district, 174 in Amreli, 44 in Gir-Somnath and 37 in Bhavnagar.

PTI