RAJKOT: Pug marks of
Asiatic lions have been spotted in
Gujarat
's Surendranagar district for the first time, forest department officials have confirmed.
With this, the big cats have made their presence felt in five districts including Gir Somnath, Junagdh, Amreli, Bhavnagar and now Surendranagar.
According to forest officials, the pug marks of lions were found in Dheduki village of Chotila talukaon Monday.
Some villagers also claimed that they saw the lions in the area.
Talking to TOI, chief conservator of forest, Junagadh circle SK Srivastava said, “We believe that the lions could have come from Babra grassland to Jasdan route travelling nearly 30 to 35km.”
According to Srivastava, it’s normal for lions to venture into new territories as the number of big cats has increased in Gir region.
Sources said they had the information that lions are roaming in this area but they confirmed it on Monday by matching the pug marks.
Forest officials have asked the villagers not to panic and not to disturb the animals.
According to the May 2015 census, there were 523 lions in Gir of which 168 were outside the sanctuary area.
But the internal assessment of the state government hinted at the presence of 800 lions in the region — 340-odd within the protected sanctuary and the rest in rural areas of Amreli, Gir-Somnath, Bhavnagar and Junagadh. The lion population is spread approximately in an area of 22,000 sq km.
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