On Wednesday, the lioness that was struck by a train at a forest in the Amreli district of Gujarat four days ago passed away while receiving treatment. This is the third big cat death this month as a result of being struck by a train in the area, an official said.
In the most recent incident, on January 20, the lioness was hurt when she was struck by a passenger train close to Doliyia village in Rajula taluka of Amreli district. After being moved to the Shakkarbaug zoo in the Junagadh district, an official from the forest department stated that the animal passed away on Wednesday while receiving care.
A goods train struck a lioness near Vijapadi village in the Gir (East) forest division of Amreli on January 3, injuring her. After being saved and given basic care, it was moved to the Shakkarbaug zoo, where, according to an earlier statement from an official, it passed away on January 11 while receiving treatment.
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According to the official, on January 12, a lion in the same division of the Amreli district perished after being struck by a train close to Amrutvel village. State Forest Minister Mulu Bera expressed concern about the feline deaths on Wednesday, stating that orders have been given to raise the height of fencing along railway tracks and to slow down trains as they pass through wildlife areas.
“To prevent such incidents, forest department officials have held meetings and we are sensitive about such deaths. We have decided to take prompt action to prevent such incidents in the coming days,” Bera told reporters.
The Asiatic lions in Gujarat rose nearly 29 percent to 674 from 523 in five years from 2015, as per the government reports of 2020. while the distribution area of the lions went up 36 percent.
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In a reply to a question in the state assembly in February 2023, Bera said out of 240 lion deaths reported in the state in two years in 2021 and 2022, 26 fatalities were due to unnatural causes such as the big cats getting hit by vehicles or falling into open wells.
