Amreli: A lioness went on a near-12-hour rampage in Amreli district, attacking five people, including a forest department guard, in Arjansukh village of Vadia taluka on Thursday night. The animal was finally tranquilised and caged on Friday, with foresters suspecting that its unusually aggressive behaviour could be linked to rabies.In the first attack, the lioness charged at two youths riding a motorcycle, causing the vehicle to crash. One suffered injuries to his hand, while the other sustained injuries to his leg.A few hours later, the lioness attacked two more people working in agricultural fields before targeting a forest department guard who had joined the rescue operation.“I was working in my field when the lioness suddenly came running out of the cotton plants and attacked me,” an injured farmer told officials.The operation to capture the animal began around 1 am on Friday, with six to seven forest department teams extensively scanning the area. After nearly 12 hours, the lioness was tranquilised and caged and taken to the Krankach Animal Care Centre for veterinary examination.Principal chief conservator of forests Jaipal Singh said the attacks took place in a transit area and the lioness may have been disturbed by movement in the area.“There is one more lion in the area, and we are keeping a close watch on its movement. If required, we will capture the second one also,” Singh said.The incident comes amid a series of recent cases in Amreli involving unusually aggressive lions and attacks on forest personnel. In September, an ailing lion attacked a forester and a tracker during a rescue operation near Navi Barpatoli in Rajula.In April, a lioness injured a forest tracker during a treatment-and-release operation near Rampara. In June, a lion near Jafrabad displayed abnormal behaviour, chasing vehicles before dying without being captured. Subsequent testing confirmed that the lion had rabies.
