Lioness strayed in Jamnagar forest dies of electrocution, two arrested for burying the carcass

Ahmedabad: The forest department has arrested two persons in connection with the death of a lioness who had made Jamnagar district its home for quite some time far away from Asiatic lions' known abode in the Gir Forest.

Officials said the lioness, prima facie, died of electrocution in an agricultural farm which had an electrified fence. The owners of the farm had installed the fence to stop animals like wild boars and blue bulls from destroying crops. They allegedly buried the carcass fearing action from the forest department.

The lioness had strayed away from the Gir Forest area, about 150 km away in Jamnagar district whose movement was being monitored. The forest officials got suspicious after radio signals kept showing the lioness at the same spot for four days.

"Carnivores move everyday in search of prey. But the signal of the lioness showed stable at the same spot which flagged cause of concern that something must have happened. We formed different teams and started combing the nearby areas to find clues," said K Ramesh, chief conservator of forests (CCF), Junagadh territorial forest circle, told DH

The teams after scouting the area found the radio-collar belt and something felt fishy as there was no sign of pug marks or other clues to trace the big cat. Ramesh said that lion's scat (feces) was also missing from the location. During the search, the team observed a foul smell of carcass which they realised was of a lion. Ultimately, they traced the carcass buried in a limestone quarry in Hansthal village, about 40 km from Jamnagar city.

While burying the carcass, the farm owners noticed the radio-collar belt in the neck. Sensing that it may be a tool to send location, they exhumed the body and removed the belt before throwing it about 4 km away from the scene to divert attention.