A 48-second video, purportedly showing a pride of lions roaming on the road, has gone viral with the claim that they were running away from the bulldozers razing trees in the Kancha Gachibowli forest, following the Telangana government’s controversial decision to auction off 400 acres of forested land in the heart of Hyderabad to build IT parks, which has triggered protests and a Supreme Court intervention.
“Someone sent me this video saying these lions got panicked by bulldozers in #HCU and running towards #Erravallifarmhouse and #Janwadafarmhouse for shelter,” read an X post, sharing the video, which has clocked 2.7 million views so far.
Fact Check
Newschecker ran a keyword search for “Lions Hyderabad road”, which did not lead us to any credible news reports about such an incident.
We then ran a reverse image search of keyframes, which led us to the same video shared by a media outlet, The Gujarat Kesari, on Facebook on November 11, 2024, well before the ongoing controversy.
According to the Gujarati caption, the video shows a group of 12 lions crossing the road near Kovaya village in Rajula taluka, Amreli district, Gujarat. Similarly, an Ahmedabad Mitra news report on Youtube, dated November 11, 2024, stated that a group of 12 lions were caught on camera crossing the road.
A further search led us to this News18 Gujarati report, dated November 12, 2024, sharing the same video, stating that videos of lions in Amreli district frequently go viral on social media. “Today, another video of lions has gone viral on social media. This video from near Bajrang Petrol Pump on Rajula-Gir Somnath National Highway has gone viral on social media. Around 10 lions were crossing the road and heading towards the forest, the video of this incident has gone viral on social media… Lion families live in 11 talukas of Amreli district. Lions are prevalent in Amreli, Junagadh and Gir Somnath, Bhavnagar district. Lions are seen mostly in Gir….” read the report, confirming that the viral video is not from Hyderabad.
Newschecker learnt that while Gujarat’s Gir forest, located in the districts of Junagadh, Gir Somnath, and Amreli, is renowned as the last abode of Asiatic lions, their frequent sightings in adjoining residential areas have been raising increasing questions about habitat loss and wildlife conservation.
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Conclusion
A viral video showing a pride of lions strolling on a road is from Gujarat and not from Hyderabad following the clearing of the Kancha Gachibowli forest.