A cattle herder reportedly survived nearly 30 minutes pinned beneath a lioness in an attack caught in a gripping video that has bene shared online
The man survived by remaining calm and gently stroking the animal until it released him.
The lioness attacked the man and pinned him down on a village road in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar district on Sunday, July 5, before letting him go, forest officials said on Monday, July 6.
The viral footage shows the lion pinning the man to the ground next to a parked pickup truck. The victim, who appeared to be bleeding, remained still throughout the ordeal and at one point even gently reached out to touch the big cat in a bid to calm it.
While villagers could be heard shouting from a distance and throwing stones at the lioness, no one dared to approach them during the attack.
After several tense minutes, the lioness released the man and walked toward a nearby cattle shelter, leaving him alone, said Chirag Amin, deputy conservator of forests of the Shatrunjay Division.
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 is out of danger.
A statement issued by the Palitana range forest office said the incident took place in the district’s Garajiya village on the morning of July 6, when some villagers spotted the lioness and raised an alarm.
Officials said the lion attempted to flee the spot and injured a 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 become more serious.
The forest department has initiated measures to capture the lion and has appealed to people not to harass it, not to attempt to spot it or drive it away on their own, and to contact the forest department immediately if they sight it.
See video below.
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