Lion roaming near Diu beaches caged

Rajkot: A lion that had been spotted roaming in the union territory of Diu for over two months was captured in a joint operation by Diu local administration and Gujarat forest department in the early hours of Friday. The elusive lion was captured when it came to drink water.
The male lion, approximately 8-10 years old, was captured from the Bucharwada reserve forest area around 3 am and sent to the Jasadhar animal care centre.
Talking to TOI deputy conservator of forest Diu, Harshraj Wathore said, “We got the lion’s location for the last 2-3 days and were tracking its movements. We had called a team from Gujarat forest department and were waiting for the lion near a pond with a bait as it used to come there to drink water. When the lion came there the veterinary doctors tranquillized it.”
The lion was last seen on the Nagoa-Vanakbara road two weeks ago, but after that, its tracks could not be found. It was believed that the lion had returned to the forest in Gujarat, but its pug marks were found again two days ago. Wathore said the forest officials were closely monitoring the movement of the lion through pug marks and trap cameras installed at various places.
The team from the Gir East division of the Gujarat forest department helped Diu forest department to rescue the lion. Rajdeepsinh Zala deputy conservator of forest Gir (east) said, “It was very difficult to locate the lion in Diu because it is surrounded by the Arabian Sea in all directions, has densely populated areas, creeks, ravine and caves which made the task to locate and rescue lion very difficult.”
At least a dozen individuals from Diu and Gujarat forest department were involved in the rescue operation.
A leopard has also been spotted in the Diu district and efforts are on to capture it.