Shocking! Five-year-old boy playing with cubs, mauled, eaten by lioness

This picture has been used for representational purposes.

Rajkot: A five-year-old boy was mauled and killed by a lioness in the Ucchaiya farm in Amreli district of Gujarat after he was playing with her cubs. According to the forest officials, the lioness grabbed the child, identified as Kishore Devpujak, by his neck for nearly three km and was chased by his parents, The Times of India reported.

The incident happened on early Tuesday morning between 4 am to 5 am when the boy, staying with his parents in an open hut, woke up to the growling sounds of the lion cubs when he stepped out of the house and started playing with them, without realizing that their mother was close by. The lioness then pounced on him and ferociously attacked him.

The big cat took the boy by his neck three km away from the spot, near the grasslands and ate his head and part of his legs. She was chased by the boy's parents, who work as farm labourers. Their hut is located close to a railway track near Port Pipavav, 12 km away from Rajula town.

According to the forest officials, the lioness may have mistaken the boy as a prey she had killed a goat in the past in this same spot recently. Sandeep Kumar, deputy conservator of the forest Shetrunji division was quoted saying by the newspaper that the lioness was familiar with the people settled at the spot of the incident as she often moved around in this area.

He also said that the forest department have located the lioness to a nearby grassland and has laid a capture to her.

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