A critically endangered Asiatic lion has been pulled to safety after slipping down a 60 foot deep watering hole and nearly drowning.
Dramatic footage shows villagers in remote Amrapur in Gujarat, India – where some of the only remaining wild prides of the lion species exist – desperately trying to save the animal.
The distressed eight-year-old lion can be heard roaring as it stands on a small ledge at the side of the well – which was nearly full with water.
Rescue: Using flimsy-looking strings of rope tied around the lion’s body, locals collectively hoisted the distressed animal to safety. It remains unclear who managed to tie the chord around the wild animal
Dramatic: The footage shows villagers in remote Amrapur in Gujarat, India – where some of the only remaining wild prides of the lion species exist – desperately trying to save the wild animal
Rescuers lowered a mattress into the well in a bid to give the exhausted lion a platform to stand on, after it had spent hours treading water.
Using flimsy-looking strings of rope tied around the lion’s body, the locals collectively hoisted the distressed animal to safety. It remains unclear who managed to tie the chord around the wild animal.
Ramesh Katara, deputy conservator of forest for the local district, told local media: ‘After it jumped on the bed [mattress] again, we tranquilised the lion and pulled it out of the well.
‘It was in good health despite the fall. But we have sent it to animal care centre in Sasan-Gir as a precautionary measure.
‘It will be kept under observation there for some time before we release it in the wild.’
Safety: Rescuers lowered a mattress into the well in a bid to give the exhausted lion a platform to stand on, after it had spent hours treading water
Concern: The animal was taken to an animal care centre in nearby Sasan-Gir as a precautionary measure. It will be released back into the wild after a short period of observation
According to National Geographic, only 200 to 260 Asian lions live in the Middle East and India – with an additional 200 living in zoos.
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The animals once ranged from the Mediterranean to India, covering most of West Asia where it was also known as the Persian Lion.
Compared to its African counterpart, the males of the Indian lion have a rough-looking mane and a characteristic skin fold on their stomach.
The Asiatic Lion grows to a height of approximately three foot, with their length – not including the tail – ranging from six and a half to nine feet long.