10 lions spotted on Gujarat road - Gir Somnath highway traffic comes to sudden halt

Gir lions step out of forest

A family of lions, including two lionesses and eight cubs, were seen on the Ronj Road State Highway near Kodinar in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district, which is around an hour's drive from the famed Gir National Park, the only habitat of Asiatic lions in the world, NDTV reported on Thursday.

Traffic came to a sudden stop when the lions stepped out of the forest and onto the road. According to the report, the same lions had been spotted in villages around Kodinar in recent days and are now being seen more often near the town itself. This time, they were caught on video walking casually along the highway, causing traffic to come to a standstill.

The video went viral on social media at a time when a lion mating programme is being carried out in the area. Wildlife experts believe one possible reason the lions are venturing out of the forest more frequently could be due to increasing mosquito swarms troubling them inside the jungle.

This is not the first time lions have been spotted on Gujarat roads. In February, a similar video had surfaced from the Bhavnagar-Somnath Highway. A lone Asiatic lion was seen crossing a bridge at that time, surprising drivers and stopping traffic for at least 15 minutes. That lion was later seen walking toward a nearby temple. The video was recorded from a car waiting on the road, according to the NDTV report.

As per the latest census conducted in May this year, the number of Asiatic lions in Gujarat has risen to 891, up from 674 five years ago. The 16th lion census covered 11 districts, including Junagadh, Amreli, Rajkot, Bhavnagar, Gir Somnath, and others.