iStockphoto
Asiatic lioness (Panthera leo persica), a critically endangered species.
Anyone who can say they were able to survive after being attacked by a lion is a member of a very lucky club. That group now includes a cattle herder in India, who spent 30 minutes in the clutches of one he was filmed petting before it finally let him go.
The vast majority of lions that can be found in the wild today roam the plains of sub-Saharan Africa.
There was once a time when a number of countries in southern Asia also boasted a sizable population of those mammals, but as things currently stand, Gujarat, an Indian state located on a peninsula next to the Arabian Sea, is the only place where the Asiatic variety can be found on the continent.
It is believed to be home to around 900 of the animals, which are now considered endangered after reaching the brink of extinction in the 20th century, and their resurgence has caused some problems for residents who have grappled with attacks involving both livestock and people.
That has been the case over the past few weeks due to a spike in incidents that have led to authorities rounding some of them up, and one man managed to stage a fairly miraculous escape following a scary encounter that lasted for half an hour.
A cattle herder in India was filmed petting a lion that pinned him down before it left him alone after 30 minutes
According to The Economic Times, wildlife officials captured 30 lions in June after at least two (and as many as four) were killed in suspected attacks in Gujarat (the group included “five or six” lions that were “suspected to be man-eaters” and will be permanently kept in captivity).
Now, they have another target in the form of a lioness that attacked a cattle herder named Kalu Parmar (who some outlets identified as Kalubhai Boghabhai Gamara) in the village of Palitana on Monday.
According to The Times of India, Parmar was heading to feed his flock when he was attacked from behind by a female lion that sent him to the ground. He said, “The big cat caught hold of my hand and did not let me go for a long time,” and a video shot by an onlooker showed the mammal keeping him pinned down with one of its legs.
Parmar did what he could to soothe the beast by petting it as some villagers who gathered around tried to scare the lion away by pelting it with stones. It eventually retreated after approximately 30 minutes, and Parmar was rushed to the hospital to receive treatment for the bite marks and puncture wounds he suffered in addition to a broken arm.
That was reportedly the second time the lion entered the village that day, as it had previously charged at two residents before a buffalo stepped into its path. It appears Parmar is on track to make a full recovery, and an official who oversees the forests surrounding Palitana says a team has been dispatched to tranquilize and capture the offending animal.