Amreli (Gujarat), Jun 25 (PTI) A five-year-old son of a labourer was dragged away and mauled to death by a lion in Amreli district on Wednesday afternoon, a forest department official said.

The big cat was caged hours after the incident and shifted to an animal rescue centre.

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The lion dragged away the child from a farm near Thordi village, said Range Forest Officer (RFO), Savarkundla range, Pratap Chandu.

The body of the victim, Gulsingh Harilal Ajnera, was found nearly 100 metres away from the spot, he said.

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Following the incident, the forest department set up teams to trap the big cat who was caged by the evening and taken to a nearby animal rescue centre, Chandu added.

As per the census conducted in May 2025, Amreli district is not part of the traditional habitat of Asiatic lions who are inhabitants of the Gir National Park.

The census recorded the presence of lions outside Gir National Park in 11 districts, including Amreli, of Saurashtra in non-forested and coastal areas.

The other ten districts where the presence of lions is recorded are: Junagadh, Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar, Rajkot, Morbi, Surendranagar, Devbhoomi Dwarka, Jamnagar, Porbandar and Botad.

The estimated population of Asiatic lions in their sole abode of Gujarat increased from 674 to 891 over the last five years, as per the census.

As many as 384 lions were counted in the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary and 507 outside its limits.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)