Gujarat : Five-Year-Old Boy Mauled to Death by Lion 

Savarkundla, Gujarat — The idyllic tranquility of Savarkundla taluka’s Thordi and Rajulani border areas was shattered today by a heart-wrenching tragedy. A five-year-old boy, Gulsingh Harilal Ajmera, whose family had come from Madhya Pradesh as farm laborers, was brutally dragged from a field and mauled to death by a lion, just 200 meters from where his parents toiled. The horrific incident has cast a long shadow of fear across the entire region, intensifying concerns about the escalating human-wildlife conflict in areas surrounding the Gir Forest.

The unimaginable horror unfolded in the afternoon on the farm of Ashokbhai Ratibhai Barwaliya. “We were just going to eat bread when the lion came and picked up my boy,” recounted a grief-stricken Hirabhai Ajmera, Gulsingh’s father, his voice raw with pain. “I was planting seeds near our shelter. We ran after him, but the lion turned back, chased us, and wouldn’t let go. We screamed for Seth [the farmer]. The lion had taken our boy.”

The lion dragged the innocent child into a dense thorny acacia bush, where it carried out the fatal attack. Forest department teams, rushing to the scene, found only the child’s skull, a grim testament to the ferocity of the encounter. The remains were immediately shifted to Savarkundla Hospital for post-mortem, as multiple forest department teams fanned out across the area.

Within a few hours of the tragic incident, the forest department launched an intensive operation. The lion responsible for the attack was successfully tracked, tranquilized, and safely secured in a cage. This swift action, while commendable in its efficiency, offers little comfort to a community reeling from such a profound loss. The captured lion has been transported to an animal care center for further examination and observation, with authorities vowing to ensure it is kept away from human habitation.

ACF Kapil Bhatia of the Gir East Division acknowledged the severity of the situation. “A wild animal, a lion, picked up the child in a farmer’s garden in Thordi village and moved it away. When the forest department was informed, Shetrunji Gir East Division immediately responded with all staff. Teams were formed, and the lion was rescued immediately. The incident is sad, and how it happened is being investigated.” He appealed to locals to report any lion movements to the forest department.

This latest fatality underscores a deeply disturbing trend in Amreli district, famous for its Asiatic lions. Over the past eight months, the region has witnessed a chilling series of seven fatal lion attacks, claiming six human lives and leaving several others injured. These increasing incidents have created an atmosphere of pervasive fear among local populations, placing immense pressure on the forest department.