Video Of Lion Entering Junagarh Hotel Is A Grim Reminder Of How Humans Have Hijacked Their Land
A CCTV video has emerged on social media, showing a lion venturing into a hotel in Gujarat. The lion was seen roaming around and inside the premises of Hotel Sarovar Portico in Junagadh in the video from the wee hours of February 8.
In the video, the lion can be seen jumping inside the gate of the hotel.
A security guard who is seen sitting inside a cabin at the entrance of the hotel first seems alarmed as the lion jumps inside the hotel premises.
A second CCTV video from the hotel showed the lion exiting from the hotel to the road.
While there are no reports of the lion creating panic or attacking anyone in the area, this is the latest recent incident in Gujarat where lions have been seen close to human habitats.
Such incidents on the rise
Though lions seeing strolling in human settlements is not anything new in Gujarat, the frequency of such incidents has increased recently.?
In recent years, Gujarat has seen an?increase in the number of lions straying beyond the forest?boundaries.
Protected land too small for growing big cat population
Though the reason behind the pride leaving Gir Forest is still unknown, conservationists have long argued that the protected area is becoming too small for the growing population of Asiatic lions there.
Last year, there were also a couple of incidents where lions had attacked humans, something that is rare in the state.
In December, a 14-year-old girl was mauled to death by two lions in Dhanfuliya village of Junagadh.
It is believed that the big cats might have mistaken the girls for prey in the night.
Asiatic lions are present in Protected Areas and agro-pastoral landscapes of Saurashtra covering nine districts, over 30,000 sq. km.
According to the latest data, the?number of lions in Gir forest?and other areas has risen to 674.
