Ahmedabad: The Gujarat Forest Department has executed a large-scale containment operation, capturing at least 30 Asiatic lions across multiple forest ranges in June to mitigate a dangerous escalation in human-lion conflicts. The emergency round-up follows widespread public panic and local protests over recent predatory behavior. Gujarat Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Jaipal Singh confirmed on Tuesday that the big cats were systematically trapped and removed from high-risk, human-dominated territorial zones, including Mahuva, Bagasara, Khambha, and Rajula.
Administrative tracking reveals that out of the 30 captured animals, five to six lions are heavily suspected of being man-eaters and will be held in permanent isolation facilities pending thorough behavioural evaluations. The remaining animals are slated to be released back into the deeper, protected wilderness. The intensified crackdown was triggered by a sequence of lethal attacks in Amreli district. On June 16, a 25-year-old migrant worker was mauled to death near Kovaya village within the Rajula range, where locals discovered his severed remains on an approach road. Public outrage peaked a few days later when a five-year-old boy was snatched and killed by a lioness while walking with his grandfather in Chaturi village within Khambha taluka, prompting a highly aggressive multi-team overnight trapping operation by foresters.
The sudden spike in feline aggression has drawn intense scrutiny from environmentalists and wildlife experts who point to a complex mix of systemic causes. Senior forest officials note that a delayed monsoon has subjected the Greater Gir landscape to an extended period of punishing summer heat, making the territorial animals highly irritable. Furthermore, field investigators have highlighted the proliferation of illegal private “lion shows” and deliberate animal harassment by tourists using bait, alongside illegal encroachments shrinking the vital buffer zones around Gir.
However, the strategy of bulk capturing has sparked concerns among conservationists. Prominent wildlife expert Bhushan Pandya warned that the mass capture of non-offending lions could aggravate ecological imbalances. He cautioned that permanently keeping these wild cats in captivity or forcedly releasing them into sections of the Gir forest that are already heavily occupied by established prides could trigger severe territorial clashes, intra-species fatalities, and additional management crises, emphasizing that the delicate crisis demands an evidence-based, scientific framework rather than a reactive containment approach.
