Lion wanders onto hotel grounds in Indian city

Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Security cameras at a hotel in India captured the moment an Asiatic lion entered the grounds through the main gate and wandered the premises.

CCTV cameras at the Sarovar Portico hotel in Junagadh, Gujarat, shows the lion jumping over the front gate, to the apparent surprise of the security guard manning the gate, just after 5 a.m. Monday morning.

The lion walked around the main building of the hotel and surveyed the parking lot before leaving about a minute after wandering into the area.

"The watchman at the gate was alert and stayed quiet as the lion entered the hotel premises," Sanjay Koradia, the managing partner of Sarovar Portico Hotel in Junagadh told The Indian Express. "Through intercom, he alerted other staff members about the presence of the animal in the hotel and asked them to keep doors and windows shut."

Koridia said there were no confrontations between the lion and humans on the hotel grounds.

"The CCTV footage suggests that the lion had apparently lost its way and left the hotel premises soon after finding that it was going in the wrong direction. No untoward incident was reported," Koradia said.

Koridia said there were many guests staying at the hotel at the time of the lion's visit, but due to it being early morning, most were still in their rooms asleep.