A bloodied cattle herder in India somehow survived a nightmare lioness attack after making one shocking move while trapped beneath the snarling predator for nearly 30 minutes.

Instead of fighting back, he stroked her.

The terrifying attack unfolded on July 6 in Garajiya village, in Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India, where local man Kalubhai Boghabhai Gamara was suddenly ambushed by the big cat.

According to local media, Kalubhai was on his way to feed his cattle when the lioness struck from behind, dragged him to the ground and clamped onto him with terrifying force.

“I was going to feed my cattle when the lioness suddenly attacked me from behind and pulled me down,” he told local media. “She caught hold of my hand and did not let me go for a long time.”

Shocking footage from the scene showed Kalubhai covered in blood as the lioness pinned him beneath her powerful front legs. The animal repeatedly bared her huge teeth, growled and refused to release him as horrified villagers screamed nearby.

But despite the chaos around him, nobody dared rush in.

Bystanders reportedly shouted and threw stones in a desperate attempt to scare the lioness away, but the predator would not back down.

With no clear way out, Kalubhai made a stunning split-second decision. He reportedly began gently petting the lioness in an effort to calm her down.

Amazingly, the bizarre survival tactic appeared to work.

After nearly half an hour of terror, the lioness finally let him go and retreated toward a nearby forest on her own.

Kalubhai was rushed to a hospital in Palitana with serious injuries, where his treatment remains ongoing.

The Palitana Wildlife Range later appeared to suggest the villagers’ reaction may have escalated the attack. Officials said locals “started screaming after sighting presence of a lion,” which caused the animal to try to run away and resulted in one person being injured.

The forest department has reportedly launched a search to capture the lioness involved in the latest attack.

Gujarat’s Kathiawar peninsula is the only surviving natural habitat of Asiatic lions. According to 2025 estimates, there are 891 lions in the state.

The attack comes as terrifying run-ins with the big cats have reportedly been increasing in recent months.

On the night of June 24, a five-year-old boy was mauled to death by a lioness in Amreli district while walking with his grandfather.

Kalubhai’s survival has now left locals stunned, with the cattle herder escaping a deadly predator in the most unexpected way imaginable: by staying calm enough to stroke the animal that had him pinned to the ground.