Midnight Encounter With A Lion: Gir Forest Guard Faces Down King Of The Jungle In Viral Video From Gir Lion Sanctuary In Gujarat

A beat guard at Gujarat's Gir Forest was going home at night when he encountered a lion sitting in the middle of the road, blocking his path. Mahesh Sondarva, the guard filmed a video of the big cat which he later shared with Indian Forest Service officer Dr Anshuman. The video was posted on Twitter by Dr Anshuman, who serves as the deputy conservator of forest (DCF) in Gir East. The 32-second video was filmed in a pitch-black area of the forest, with only the headlight of Sondarva's bike illuminating the road and revealing the lion calmly sitting on it. In the video, the forest guard can be heard 'pleading' with the lion in Gujarati to let him go home. While posting this video, Dr Anshuman called it a moment which makes Gir "an enigma wrapped in mystery". The video has garnered several views and 'likes' on the microblogging platform.