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Hailed as a legend with three world records to her name, Rajmata, an Asiatic lioness who died in 2020 in Amreli, has been given a befitting tribute by wildlife enthusiasts and residents of Krankach village in the district. A memorial in the form of a lifesize statue has been installed in the village with a plaque that reads, "World's most legendary lioness."
The installation of the statue on Bavadi's Dungar, a hillock in the village, finished on Sunday. Rajan Joshi, a wildlife enthusiast from Lilia taluka where the village is located, said the statue is a befitting tribute to the legendary lioness. -"She was easily identifiable thanks to the collar around her neck. She had established her territory there and successfully raised several cubs, establishing a lion kingdom of sorts in Krankach and therefore, she was known as Rajmata," Joshi said. "Rajmata was a legend with three world records to her name--living the longest in the wild, having the maximum number of litters, and delivering a cub at the ripe age of 18. After she died in 2020, we decided to build her a memorial, and it has materialised now." Rajmata literally means queen mother; the lioness was also called 'Collarwali' due to a radio collar fitted around her neck by researchers of the Wildlife Institute of India in 2008. Local Wildlife Lover Mahendrabhai Khuman, Manoj Joshi, Jalpan Rupapara, Purvesh Kacha, Bharatbhai Khachar and other local wildlife lovers and villagers have constructed the statue in memory of Rajmata. Mahendra Khuman, former deputy sarpanch of Krankach and a wildlife enthusiast, said that most of the lions settled in Krankach today are Rajmata's progenies or her descendants. "She seemed very special since she was a sub-adult and thanks to her, lions are thriving in Krankach today," said Khuman. "She lived for very long but never harmed any human. This was one reason why she was popular among residents of Krankach and nearby villages," Bharat Helariya, who was sarpanch of Krankach when Collrwali died on August 15, 2020, said. (ANI)
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