AHMEDABAD:
A lioness in Liliya, in the Gir forest, is terrorizing villagers who
live around her territory. She is perpetually angry and lashes out at
anyone who crosses her path. The villagers say her temper is fuelled by a
radio collar that was fitted on her; and the collar — equipped with a
tracking device — does not work anymore.
Residents, who refuse to be identified, say that the lioness has on a couple of occasions attacked the people of Kanrach village. However, fortunately, no major injury has been reported. Curiously, the villagers are sensitive to animals' wellbeing. They had recently thrashed some outsiders who had entered the area for an illegal lion show.
As for the officials, they acknowledge that the lioness is a troublemaker. Once, she made even forest guards run helter-skelter for cover. The foresters slipped into slush but luckily the lioness did not attack them.
Manoj Joshi,
who runs a nature club in the area, said: "One day, the lioness was
found sitting beside a driver who was sleeping near his vehicle in the
open."Residents, who refuse to be identified, say that the lioness has on a couple of occasions attacked the people of Kanrach village. However, fortunately, no major injury has been reported. Curiously, the villagers are sensitive to animals' wellbeing. They had recently thrashed some outsiders who had entered the area for an illegal lion show.
As for the officials, they acknowledge that the lioness is a troublemaker. Once, she made even forest guards run helter-skelter for cover. The foresters slipped into slush but luckily the lioness did not attack them.
Two attempts to relocate the lioness have failed because it is difficult to trace her. "This lioness is very clever. She has been making forest officials chase her futilely," said deputy conservator of forests (Gir east) Anushman Sharma. "In the late 2000, this lioness was caught from Gondal after the rescue team camped in the area for over 15 days. Whenever the team zeroed in on her location and rushed to the spot, she would go missing." Gondal is about 150 km from Sasan.
Sharma admitted that the radio collar which the lioness was wearing had indeed become non-functional. But for removing that, one has to catch her. He said some villagers thought the collar served a purpose. "They feel that the collar makes unscrupulous elements think that the forest department is monitoring the area and hence they keep away."
Source: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-07-02/ahmedabad/32508116_1_lioness-gir-forest-gir-village
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