The lion featured along with Amitabh Bachchan in Gujarat Tourism's 'Khusboo Gujarat Ki' ad passed away last week. Maulana, the Majesty, as he was called, was one of the oldest surviving lion in Gir. Chief Conservator of Forest AP Singh said, "Maulana who was spotted in the tourism zone was named Maulana because of his look. Maulana, around 16 years of age was under treatment for the last 10 days."
He said the lion was alone for the past couple of years, and was one of the oldest surviving lions with Ram who died earlier this month. Former Deputy Conservator of Forest Sandeep Kumar said that Maulana was among the group of eight lions who was featured in the advertisement on Gir. He had a unique hunting style, where he would go and kill the domestic cattle in any of the maldhari area. He would then wait for the body to be dumped out in the open. Usually, a lion loses lordship of a territory in about three years, but Maulana and his brother Tapu could not be dislodged for several years.
