Lioness Sighting Triggers High Alert in Jamnagar's Dhrol Belt as Forest Teams Launch Search

Forest officials launched an investigation in Jamnagar's Dhrol taluka after a video showing a lioness prowling through acacia thickets near Hadmatiya village went viral, sparking fresh anxiety among local farmers.

The sighting in the Hadmatiya agricultural belt comes shortly after forest teams spent a month tracking and caging a leopard in nearby Mokhana village.

 Local sarpanch leaders joined wildlife officers on the ground as search parties began scanning the terrain for pugmarks and movement trails to confirm the animal's presence.

Forest Department Searches Hadmatiya Perimeter

While official confirmation regarding the lioness remains pending, local authorities have intensified patrols across Dhrol's rural perimeter.

Farmers working evening shifts in the fields reported heightened fear following the swift circulation of the footage online.

Forest personnel are conducting foot patrols through dense vegetation around Hadmatiya to establish whether a big cat has migrated into the district from surrounding sanctuary corridors.

Escalating Wild Cat Encounters Across Gujarat Towns 

The Jamnagar incident marks the latest in a series of big cat intrusions across Gujarat's semi-urban and agricultural belts over recent weeks:

• Pardi, Valsad (8 August): Forest officials captured a four-year-old leopard in a trap cage at Dumlav village's Bhagat Faliya area after the animal preyed on livestock and domestic pets over three days.
• Nareshwar, Vadodara (10 August): Night-time footage recorded by locals confirmed a leopard roaming near the Shri Rang Avadhoot Temple premises, prompting village elders to demand immediate trapping operations.
• Ghuma, Ahmedabad (20 July): CCTV cameras captured a leopard moving inside Sharan Deep Society in the western suburbs, triggering a multi-agency search operation across residential blocks.

Precautionary Steps in Affected Villages

Forest teams have advised villagers in Dhrol to avoid solitary movement near agricultural fields after dark while field inspections continue. Local administrations across affected districts are coordinating with wildlife divisions to deploy additional cages and night-vision monitoring where repeat sightings are reported.