Mystery death of lion solved: eyewitness tracked.

Vikram Rautela
Posted: Tuesday , Dec 15, 2009 at 0317 hrs

The death of an adult Asiatic lion, whose body was found under a bridge near Bhelchhar village in the Sasan range of Gir forest earlier last week, is no longer a mystery.

Officers from the Forest Department, who are investigating the case, have finally tracked the eyewitness who had seen the big cat jump off the 25m high bridge around 11.15 pm last Tuesday.

The witness, whose identity is being withheld, is an outsider, and had come to Gir on a tour. He was tracked with the help of an entry – mentioning his name, address and car registration number – logged on the toll plaza register near the bridge.

In his statement to the investigating team headed by Deputy Forest Conservator (Gir west), Amit Kumar, the witness said that the headlights of a speeding car heading towards the Sasan side on the 20 m long bridge had startled the animal, which was walking towards the opposite (Junagadh) side that night. Feeling threatened, the lion jumped atop a narrow, metre-high parapet on the left side of the bridge, but failed to keep its balance and plunged down.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/mystery-death-of-lion-solved-eyewitness-tracked/554293/0