Growing number of lions in Gujarat’s Amreli area is leading to a surge in man-animal conflicts. In the latest incident, a lioness was left severely injured after colliding with a passenger train near Rajula town in the Shetrunji wildlife division.
The incident occurred around 7:30 pm when the Surat-bound Mahuva-Surat Express train struck a lioness between Ringaliyana Mota and Doliya villages, approximately 17 km east of Rajula town.
Ironically, this marks the third train-lion collision in Amreli in a month. In the earlier two incidents, the big cats had succumbed to their injuries.
It has been learned that the lioness appeared unexpectedly on the track which was enclosed with a fence and even though the train driver applied the brakes, it was too late, resulting in a collision with the lioness.
The injured lioness, aged between five and seven years, has been sent to the Lion Hospital in Junagadh for further treatment after railway authorities reported the incident to forest officials. It is learned that the lioness appears to have suffered a posterior fracture due to the collision.
The track was fenced but there was no caution order issued by the railways. “A lioness suddenly came on the track and the driver applied the brakes but it was too late. The train hit the lioness by that time,” said GL Vaghela in charge assistant conservator of forest, Shetrunji division.
The condition of the lioness was stable, said Vaghela.
The 90 km railway track through the lion corridor in Amreli district has become a death trap for the Asiatic lions.
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