First casualty in 2 years: Lioness run over by train in Gujarat’s Junagadh

In a tragic incident on Saturday, a lioness became the first casualty in over two years after being struck by a train in Gujarat's Junagadh district. The unfortunate event occurred at 12:33 pm when train no. 09595, traveling from Junagadh to Chalala in Amreli, passed through the Ozat River bridge near Khambhaliya village in the Moti Monpari beat of the Grass round in Visavadar range. The last recorded deaths of lions by train in Gujarat were two in July 2024, where two adults and two cubs met their end within a week.

According to the Gir West Division of the Forest Department, a wild lioness, aged between 5 and 9 years, jumped from an earthen embankment onto the railway tracks on the bridge. Despite the train's loco pilot blowing the horn and attempting to brake, the lioness was unable to avoid the collision due to the insufficient distance. The lioness sustained severe injuries and tragically died.

Upon receiving information about the incident, forest department staff reached the spot, inspected the area, and took custody of the lioness's carcass for a post-mortem examination. The carcass was subsequently taken to the Simar Rescue Centre for further investigation, including a panel post-mortem conducted by the Veterinary Officer of Simar and the Veterinary Officer of Sasan.

The Forest Department has initiated a joint inspection by officials from both the Forest Department and the Railways to thoroughly investigate the incident. In response to the severity of the matter, the department stated that a joint inspection will be carried out to ensure a comprehensive examination of the entire incident.

An official from the Bhavnagar Division of Western Railway confirmed the incident and mentioned a one-hour delay before the train resumed its journey. Attempts to contact a Senior Divisional Commercial Manager were unsuccessful due to his unavailability for comment on Saturday.

In 2024, the Gujarat High Court had urged the railways to address the issue of lion deaths following four incidents within a week. One of these incidents involved a lioness and her two cubs found dead on July 18, 2024. Another incident occurred on July 24-25, 2024, where two lions were critically injured, and one died after a train collision.

The most recent judicial development in 2026 revealed that after 19 lions were fatally hit by trains between 2014 and 2024, the Gujarat government deployed technology and traditional safeguards to divert lions 6682 times from railway tracks. This effort maintained a 27-month streak without any lion fatalities from train collisions between August 2024 and May 2026. However, this streak ended on November 14, 2026, when the lioness tragically met her end near the Ozat River bridge.