14 majestic lions cross highway in Gujarat's Amreli, video goes viral

A group of 14 lions, with lionesses and cubs among them, was caught on camera crossing a road near Gujarat's Gir National Park. This rare sighting happened at night in the Amreli district, down in the southern part of the state.

સિંહોના પણ ટોળાં હોય!
અમરેલીમાં એકસાથે 14 સિંહોનું ભાગ્યે જ જોવા મળતું અદભુત દ્રશ્ય#AsiaticLions #Gir #Gujarat pic.twitter.com/rQLZFnlssC

— Parimal Nathwani (@mpparimal) May 15, 2024

The video of this majestic pride swiftly spread across social media, drawing people in with the spectacle of these wild animals moving together in the darkness, something not often seen.

Gir forest stands as the final stronghold for the endangered Asiatic lions.

From 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020, the population of Asiatic lions in Gir forests has seen a notable increase, as per a report from the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change in 2020. Back in the late 1960s, their numbers were under 200, according to information from the Gujarat tourism website.

These magnificent cats have expanded their habitat, making their way through suitable corridors and now reside in nine districts across Gujarat: Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Amreli, Bhavnagar, Botad, Porbandar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, and Surendranagar.

This vast area, covering about 30,000 square kilometers, is referred to as the "Asiatic Lion Landscape".

Unfortunately, there have been losses too. The state's Forest Minister Mulubhai Bera reported to the assembly earlier this month that a total of 239 lions, including 126 cubs, had died in Gujarat over the past two years, with 29 of these deaths being attributed to unnatural causes.