A lioness attacked a man and pinned him down on a village road in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district on Sunday before letting him go, forest officials said on Monday.
The attack was recorded on cameras and was widely circulated on social media.
The widely circulated footage shows Assad pinning the man to the ground next to a parked pickup truck. The victim, who appeared to be bleeding, remained motionless throughout the ordeal, at one point gently reaching out to touch the big cat in an attempt to calm it.
While villagers could be heard screaming from a distance and throwing stones at the lioness, no one dared approach them during the attack.
After several tense minutes, the lioness released the man and walked towards a nearby livestock shelter, leaving him alone, said Chirag Amin, deputy conservator of forests in Shatrunjai district.
The injured man, later identified as Kalubhai Parmar, was initially admitted to a local government hospital in Palitana before being shifted to Bhavnagar. Forest officials said he was out of danger.
A statement issued by the Palitana Forest Office said that the incident occurred in Garagia village of the district on the morning of July 6, when some villagers spotted the lioness and raised an alarm.
Officials said the lion tried to flee the scene and injured one person in the process. The injured person is currently undergoing treatment.
The forest department also praised the injured man for his “extraordinary courage, patience, presence of mind and mental composure”, saying this ensured the situation did not escalate.
The forest department has taken action to capture the lion and has appealed to people not to harass it, not try to spot or repel it on their own, and to contact the forest department immediately if they see it.
Forest officials said the lioness hunted an animal in Darwada district near Sonbari village on July 5 before moving to Garagea village, which falls within its usual movement corridor.
The incident follows the killing of five people linked to lion attacks in June, including two suspected cases currently under investigation.
The forest department said the incident reflects the long history of coexistence between humans and Asiatic lions in the Greater Gir region, where the Madhari community has lived side by side with the animals for generations.
The injured man was a member of the Maldari pastoralist community from Garagia village.
Experts have attributed the rise in such incidents to a combination of factors, including the spread of lions outside the core Gir area, illegal lion shows and animal harassment, and increasing encroachment around protected areas which has reduced the barrier between lions and human settlements.
The delayed monsoon has also prolonged the summer heat, making the animals more nervous and vulnerable to attack when disturbed or contacted by humans, officials said.
The number of Asiatic lions in Gujarat stood at 891 as per the 2025 census, up from 674 in 2020, with an increasing number of lions spreading from the core landscape of Gir to surrounding areas and human-controlled areas over the years.
