Karnataka Forest official says lion in viral video was provoked

A recent viral video of a lion chasing visitors in a zoo safari in Karnataka's Ballari district according to the zoo official had been taken 45 days ago. The Ballari zoo Executive Director Sonal Varshi on October 13, in a statement, said that the incident occurred towards the end of August and that it is nothing new as tigers and lions chase visitors in their territory. The 61-second video surfaced on social media, where the six-year-old lion named Keshri is seen chasing a vehicle that has a group of visitors. The video was shared by a lot of users on sites and apps like Youtube, Twitter, WhatsApp and Facebook. Many television news channels too aired the viral video. 

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Forest official reacts

The incident occurred in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park, which is named after the former Indian Prime Minister. The forest official said that the lion who lives in the park located in Ballari, woke up while the driver took the jeep close to it and raised the throttle. This provoked the animal to charge up and run behind the vehicle at its high speed. The jeeps and other vehicles used for safari have grills and mesh as a safety measure as prevention to any attack by the wild animals such as tigers and lions. While speaking about the lion, the forest officer Varshi said that Keshri was a new entrant in the park and it was released in the protected area to settle down. The lion is now used to vehicles and visitors by now, she added. 

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Reactions on social media

The viral video received many reactions on social media. The video was taken by one of the tourists who remains unnamed till now. Many internet users have bashed the ones who are in the vehicle for unnecessarily troubling the lion. A user on YouTube wrote that it is not a dog that is chasing their car, it is a lion and people should stop bothering it. Another user wrote that please don't disturb the majestic animal as he is our pride. A third user jokingly wrote, "Lion is like, why these guys are running from me? I just want to say hi".

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(With inputs from agencies)