13 Asiatic lions captured in Amreli in hunt for maneater

13 Asiatic lions have been captured in Gujarat's Amreli district in search for a suspected maneater among them.

Forest department officials said that the Asiatic lions have been captured after they received reports of three people being killed by lionesses over the last two months.

A minor boy was killed and his body was found partially eaten by lions on May 19 in Ambardi village of Amreli district. The boy'?s father was injured while trying to save his son.

Earlier, a 50-year-old woman and a 60-year-old man were killed in separate attacks by lions in Bharad and Ambardi villages of the district respectively.

Junagadh's Chief Conservator of Forests, Dr. Anirudh Pratapsinh, said, "?Our entire staff and rescue team is involved in this operation. So far, we have captured 13 out of 16 lions. They have been kept at our rescue centre."

The captured lions will be subjected to scat (faeces) test to ascertain which of them was involved in the killings. Based on the test results, the maneaters will be sent to the zoo while the others will be rehabilitated elsewhere.

Cases of conflict between humans and lions are not very often heard of in areas around Gir sanctuary, popularly known as last abode of Asiatic lions. According to the last census of Asiatic lions in Gir sanctuary, conducted in 2015, the number of the felines stood at 523.