Indian cricketer Ravindra Jadeja has been fined $300 for taking selfies with endangered Asiatic lions in the country's west despite a ban on such photos, a senior forest official said on Wednesday. Officials had ordered an investigation in June after photos of Jadeja posing in front of a pride of lions during a safari in Gir forest went viral on social media.
"We had instituted a probe and called Jadeja for a statement," A.P. Singh, chief forest conservator in Gujarat state, told AFP. "But since he was not available, his father-in-law Hardevsinh Solanki gave a written statement on his behalf and paid the fine of 20,000 rupees ($300)," he said. In one of the photos on Instagram, the all-rounder is seen smiling and pointing at a pride of big cats resting behind him with a caption "family photo, having good time in Sasan (Gir)". Another is a selfie of Jadeja and his wife as a lion looks on in the background. Gir wildlife sanctuary is a popular big cat safari destination and the only place where 523 Asiatic lions remain in the wild, according to the latest census.