For many years, Wagha Siddha, a resident of Chaturi village in the Amreli district of Gujarat, warned neighbors to stay away from lions, condemning those who approached or photographed the animals. However, on June 24, the situation changed drastically when a lioness snatched his five-year-old grandson right near his home.
Today, Siddha states that he is ready to kill a lion to protect his family, regardless of potential repercussions from forest services. The attack occurred so close to the residence that even the Gujarat Forest Department described it as an extremely unusual phenomenon. On that day, about 500 residents chased the lioness for almost a kilometer before surrounding her in bushes. Himmat Vora from a neighboring village recalls that extracting the body was even more difficult because the lioness would not release it and continued to attack the crowd with every approach.
Haresh Siddha, the boy's uncle, notes: 'We trusted the lions. Now we do not trust them anymore.' This trust had been built over generations and was the foundation of the success in conserving the Asiatic lion in Gujarat. A century ago, the Asiatic lion was nearly extinct. Today, Gujarat is home to 891 individuals, and the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), headquartered in Switzerland, recognizes the state as the last refuge for this species.
The lion population has more than doubled in the last 20 years, which is usually attributed to monitoring and legal protection. However, the true reason for this growth is more complex to measure. For a long time, lions freely roamed the villages of Saurashtra after dark, and people accepted their presence. This long-standing tolerance is now being tested.
The attack in Chaturi was the fourth fatal incident in 15 days. On June 11, in Ghantiyan, Bagasara, a seven-year-old son of a migrant worker was killed. On June 16, a 30-year-old man died near Kowa in Rajula and was partially eaten. On June 17, 30-year-old Naji Gudharia was killed on his way home to Mahuva. He was almost home, around 8 PM, and was only 100 meters from the door of Hared Gadda when a lioness attacked him. His remains were found the next day, and his skull was discovered some distance away.
His mother, Devu, says: 'Lions often roam our private land. It seems the forest department believes that lions should never be harmed, even when they kill people or livestock.'
On Sunday evening (July 5), a lion entered the village of Tavi in the Savarkundla belt of Amreli district and attacked a young shepherd, Raju Vagelu, who was sleeping in a cattle shed near his home. Neighbors, armed with sticks, drove the lion away. Vagelu received over 20 stitches on his leg. On Monday morning, in the village of Garajia taluka Palitana in Bhavnagar, a sub-adult lion pinned the shepherd Maldhari Kalu Parmar to the ground for almost half an hour, holding him down as he tried to get up, while residents shouted and threw stones. It did not bite him. Parmar managed to escape with claw injuries, and a video of him lying under the lion and petting it went widely viral.
Official data shows that the number of deaths from lion attacks increased from two per year in 2020–21 to seven in 2024–25, and then dropped to five last year; the number of injuries peaked at 42 cases in 2024–25 and fell to 13 a year later. However, four deaths in two weeks, followed by two more consecutive attacks, represents a worrying departure from the norm.
The attacks have caused fear and anger among the people. They once called the lions their 'pride,' but now they simply want them gone. Forest officials are most concerned about what this anger might lead to. 'Our biggest fear is that people might attack and kill lions, as happens in some tiger landscapes,' says a senior official.
Signs of hostility towards lions have already appeared. In June, a dead eight-month-old cub with severe injuries was found near Junagadha, and one person was arrested under the Wildlife Protection Act. The Forest Department is relocating lions from dangerous areas. In June, at least 30 individuals were captured from areas such as Mahuva, Bagasara, Hambha, and Rajula. Jaipal Singh, the state's chief wildlife conservator, quoted by PTI, stated: 'Five or six of them suspected of human attacks are kept in captivity.'
The tolerance-based conservation model may quickly collapse when trust begins to disappear. Currently, all anger is directed at forest service employees. After the boy's death in Chaturi, about 2000 people gathered near the government hospital in Hambha, many ready to confront officials until local leaders intervened. Senior officials asked the state Minister of Forest and Environment, Arjun Modhwadia, to visit the family and ease the tension among the populace. The minister met with the family and assured residents that the government would develop a standard operating procedure to prevent such attacks.
For frontline staff, confrontation with angry crowds has become part of the job. Forester Anil Rathod says: 'Residents insult us and sometimes even attack us. We can only remain calm and try to talk to them.'
Security guard assistant Pravin Baloh reports that residents once took the keys to his motorcycle and forced him to call senior officials, demanding the capture of the lion responsible for the incident. The police often have to intervene.
The forest can no longer contain the lions. There are more of them than Gir can hold, and they have spread beyond its boundaries. The Amreli district has 339 lions, surpassing the 222 in Gir Somnath and 116 in Bhavnagar, and many now inhabit grazing lands and government properties, coastal scrub zones, and farms. As Sarpanch Savji Babu says, 'Lions are now moving through coastal villages.'
Studies of Gir lions showed that they mainly hunt at night, rest during the day, and organize their movements considering human activity. In Gir, Maldhari shepherds were able to live near them for almost 150 years. Outside Gir, many communities are still learning to coexist.
Some residents claim that the lions themselves have changed, insisting that these are not 'original Gir lions' but animals brought in 'from somewhere else.' Officials reject this claim, although they admit that constant human disturbance can affect lion behavior.
Ajit Bhatt, a wildlife activist in Amreli, blames illegal lion shows and social media-driven tourism. He notes: 'There are WhatsApp groups and mobile apps that immediately notify people when a lion kills an animal near the land. Cars arrive from Rajkot and Bhavnagar. People film videos, make reels, and disturb the lions while they are feeding or resting. Irritated lions may later attack innocent residents.'
Nevertheless, he adds that such attacks are rare. 'Even rarer is predation by lions on humans. It is confusing.'
Bushan Pandya, a wildlife photographer, believes that Gujarat cannot afford to lose the goodwill of the communities that made lion conservation possible. He emphasizes: 'Conservation is impossible without the cooperation and support of local communities.'
For communities living near lions, these relationships are also supported by compensation. The government pays 10 lakh rupees for human casualties caused by wild animals. For livestock, the amount ranges from 25,000 to 50,000 rupees.
However, maintaining these relationships requires more than just compensation. The responsible department managing this process states that it lacks almost everything necessary. Officials need hydraulic vehicles for lifting large animals, new vans, modern rescue centers, insurance for personnel working with dangerous wildlife, and more fuel than the allowed 30 liters per month for a guard.
Sources note that the lions have redrawn their territory, but the administrative map has not yet caught up. A lion can move a few meters and cross from one forest division to another; where jurisdictions overlap, rescue operations and response can slow down. Officials are now demanding a review of the boundaries.
Ajay Parmar from Hared Gadda village, who survived a lion attack two years ago, says that people are discouraged from carrying sticks or installing electric fences on their agricultural land. Chirag Amin, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Shetrunji division, refutes this statement: 'We advise residents living in protected areas to carry sticks and flashlights for self-defense. Restrictions apply only in reserved forests.'
Fear has begun to change daily habits. Some parents have stopped sending children to school, fearing the risky journey. Their biggest concern is that they haven't even noticed how these changes happened. The lion was the only wild creature near which they always felt safe. Now they are unsure if they even know this animal.
