Rescue of wild lion from sea in Gujarat

In a dramatic moment, an Asiatic lion which had wandered into the Arabian sea off the Indian coast was successfully rescued.

Local fishermen spotted the lion sitting on the edge of a rock and then diving into the sea.

Footage released shows the lion jumping into the water off Gujarat state near the port area and swimming away from shore.

The spectacle drew large crowd of people gathered to watch the lion, which prompted some to call emergency services after the lion entered the sea.

Local residents also informed the police and forest department about it. Forest department officials and rescue team rushed to spot and tranquilized the lion.

Rescuers tranquilised the lion before transporting the big cat to an animal care centre.

An investigation has been launched to find out how the lion managed to stray 20 miles from the sanctuary to the busy, heavily inhabited port area.

Intense conservation work in Gir have seen numbers rise from 411 in 2010 to 523 previous year, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel announced after the latest census. Using all this information with location details we removed overlapping and reached the final count, ‘ Forest official CN Pandey told the BBC.