News Analysis India

Tag: Leopard

  • Maharashtra: Woman mauled to death by leopard in Chandrapur

    By PTI

    CHANDRAPUR: A 53-year-old woman was dragged away and mauled to death by a leopard outside her house in a forested area of Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, an official said on Tuesday.

    The incident took place late on Monday night when the victim Mandabai Sidam was sleeping outside her house in Virkhalchak village in Saoli forest range, some 56 km from the district headquarters, the senior forest officer from Chandrapur circle said.

    The victim raised an alarm, following which the animal left her and escaped into the forest. But she died on the spot, he said.

    While an official had earlier said that the woman had been attacked by a tiger, range forest officer of Saoli P G Virutkar said pugmarks of a leopard were found at the scene.

    A 10-member team of forest personnel is patrolling the village to prevent another man-animal conflict.

    Apart from this, two cages have been installed in the vicinity to trap the animal, he said.

    Forest officials and police reached the spot for an inspection, chief conservator of forest Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar said, adding that an initial compensation has been given to the deceased woman’s family.

    According to sources in the forest department, eight persons have been killed in attacks by wild animals so far this year, and at least 53 had died in such attacks in Chandrapur last year.

    CHANDRAPUR: A 53-year-old woman was dragged away and mauled to death by a leopard outside her house in a forested area of Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district, an official said on Tuesday.

    The incident took place late on Monday night when the victim Mandabai Sidam was sleeping outside her house in Virkhalchak village in Saoli forest range, some 56 km from the district headquarters, the senior forest officer from Chandrapur circle said.

    The victim raised an alarm, following which the animal left her and escaped into the forest. But she died on the spot, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    While an official had earlier said that the woman had been attacked by a tiger, range forest officer of Saoli P G Virutkar said pugmarks of a leopard were found at the scene.

    A 10-member team of forest personnel is patrolling the village to prevent another man-animal conflict.

    Apart from this, two cages have been installed in the vicinity to trap the animal, he said.

    Forest officials and police reached the spot for an inspection, chief conservator of forest Dr Jitendra Ramgaonkar said, adding that an initial compensation has been given to the deceased woman’s family.

    According to sources in the forest department, eight persons have been killed in attacks by wild animals so far this year, and at least 53 had died in such attacks in Chandrapur last year.

  • Jharkhand’s Palamu forest: Cameras, drones and a ‘Shikari’ hunt leopard that killed 4 kids

    By PTI

    RANCHI: The Jharkhand forest department has deployed over 50 trap cameras, one drone and a large number of officials to trace a ‘man-eater’ leopard, which killed four children since December 10 in Palamu division, an official said on Sunday.

    The department has now roped in celebrated Hyderabad-based hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan to bag the big cat by tranquillising him.

    It is suspected that all four children including three in Garhwa and one in Latehar district were killed by the same leopard.

    The victims were in the age group of six and 12 years.

    The leopard has struck terror in more than 50 villages in three blocks — Ramkanda, Ranka and Bhandariya — of the district where people have been asked by the forest department not to venture out after sunset.

    “We are spending sleepless nights in fear of the leopard. Women and children are scared. It appears to be a curfew-like situation in the evening,” said Ravindra Prasad, a farmer from Ramkanda block.

    The Garhwa forest division had submitted a proposal to state Chief Wildlife Warden on Thursday to declare the big cat a man-eater and it had also suggested names of three hunters including Nawab Shafath Ali Khan and former legislator Girinath Singh.

    State Chief Wildlife Warden Sasikar Samanta told PTI, “There are some official formalities to declare an animal man-eater. Our first priority is to capture the leopard through tranquillisation, which is possible only by experts. Therefore, we have consulted Nawab Shafath Ali Khan to help in our effort. He is not only an expert but also equipped with latest equipment to identify and control an animal.”

    Samanta, who is also Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), said that Khan is expected to arrive in first week of January.

    “If capturing was not possible, then we may think of killing the leopard as last option,” Samanta said.

    Speaking to PTI, Khan confirmed that he was approached by state forest officials.

    “I was told to visit Jharkhand and help in monitoring and tranquilizing the leopard. However, I am yet to receive any official letter in this regard,” he said.

    More than 50 trap cameras have been put up in possible route of the big cat in and around Kushwaha village where a 12-year-old boy was killed by the animal on December 28.

    “The trap cameras have captured various animals in the region but leopard has not been traced yet. Besides trap cameras, we are also using drone cameras but it has also not found any trace of the leopard,” Garhwa Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Shashi Kumar told PTI.

    He said that they would change the locations of the cameras on Sunday and make another effort to trace it.

    “We have also ordered three cages from Meerut, which is likely to arrive by Sunday evening,” he said.

    On December 10, the leopard reportedly killed its first victim, a 12-year-old girl, in Chipadohar area in the nearby Barwadih block of Latehar district.

    Then, six-year-old child was killed in Rodo village in Bhandariya block on December 14 in Garhwa district, while another six-year-old girl was mauled to death by the leopard in Sevadih village in Ranka block on December 19 in the same district.

    RANCHI: The Jharkhand forest department has deployed over 50 trap cameras, one drone and a large number of officials to trace a ‘man-eater’ leopard, which killed four children since December 10 in Palamu division, an official said on Sunday.

    The department has now roped in celebrated Hyderabad-based hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan to bag the big cat by tranquillising him.

    It is suspected that all four children including three in Garhwa and one in Latehar district were killed by the same leopard.

    The victims were in the age group of six and 12 years.

    The leopard has struck terror in more than 50 villages in three blocks — Ramkanda, Ranka and Bhandariya — of the district where people have been asked by the forest department not to venture out after sunset.

    “We are spending sleepless nights in fear of the leopard. Women and children are scared. It appears to be a curfew-like situation in the evening,” said Ravindra Prasad, a farmer from Ramkanda block.

    The Garhwa forest division had submitted a proposal to state Chief Wildlife Warden on Thursday to declare the big cat a man-eater and it had also suggested names of three hunters including Nawab Shafath Ali Khan and former legislator Girinath Singh.

    State Chief Wildlife Warden Sasikar Samanta told PTI, “There are some official formalities to declare an animal man-eater. Our first priority is to capture the leopard through tranquillisation, which is possible only by experts. Therefore, we have consulted Nawab Shafath Ali Khan to help in our effort. He is not only an expert but also equipped with latest equipment to identify and control an animal.”

    Samanta, who is also Principal Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife), said that Khan is expected to arrive in first week of January.

    “If capturing was not possible, then we may think of killing the leopard as last option,” Samanta said.

    Speaking to PTI, Khan confirmed that he was approached by state forest officials.

    “I was told to visit Jharkhand and help in monitoring and tranquilizing the leopard. However, I am yet to receive any official letter in this regard,” he said.

    More than 50 trap cameras have been put up in possible route of the big cat in and around Kushwaha village where a 12-year-old boy was killed by the animal on December 28.

    “The trap cameras have captured various animals in the region but leopard has not been traced yet. Besides trap cameras, we are also using drone cameras but it has also not found any trace of the leopard,” Garhwa Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Shashi Kumar told PTI.

    He said that they would change the locations of the cameras on Sunday and make another effort to trace it.

    “We have also ordered three cages from Meerut, which is likely to arrive by Sunday evening,” he said.

    On December 10, the leopard reportedly killed its first victim, a 12-year-old girl, in Chipadohar area in the nearby Barwadih block of Latehar district.

    Then, six-year-old child was killed in Rodo village in Bhandariya block on December 14 in Garhwa district, while another six-year-old girl was mauled to death by the leopard in Sevadih village in Ranka block on December 19 in the same district.

  • Leopard kills 10-year-old boy in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh 

    By PTI
    PITHORAGARH (Uttarakhand): A 10-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in a village in this district, a forest official said on Wednesday.

    The boy was returning to home along with his sister from a shop in Latrari village on Tuesday evening when he was attacked by the leopard from behind, Pithoragarh Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Vinay Bhargav said.

    As his sister cried for help, the leopard fled, leaving the boy behind after dragging him for a few metres, he said.

    The boy was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him dead.

  • Carcasses of two leopards found in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district; electrocution suspected

    By PTI
    BHOPAL: The carcasses of two leopards were found in a village in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district with electrocution suspected to be the cause behind their death, a senior forest officer said on Monday. “The carcasses of a male leopard and a female leopard were spotted at Harrabhat Khurmundi village by villagers who in turn informed forest officials on Sunday,” Narendra Sanodia, Chief Conservator of Forests, told PTI.

    It is suspected that these leopards died of electrocution after stepping on a live electric wire laid in the area, he said, adding the postmortem and lab test reports are awaited. Two persons are being questioned in connection with the incident, Sanodia said.

    According to a forest department official, the carcasses were lying about six metres apart from each other at the spot.

    As per the ‘Status of Leopards in India 2018’ report released by the Union government in December last year, the maximum number of leopards (3,421) were found in Madhya Pradesh, followed by 1,783 in Karnataka and 1,690 in Maharashtra.

  • Leopard strays into posh Jammu locality, injures three before being captured

    By PTI
    JAMMU: An adult leopard on Tuesday strayed into a posh locality of the city and attacked and injured three persons including two Wildlife Department officials before being captured in a rescue operation lasting over two hours.

    Two wildlife officials, including a doctor, and a civilian were injured in the attack by the beast, the presence of which caused panic among the people in the Gandhi Nagar locality of the city.

    The full-grown leopard attracted a crowd of curious onlookers, seen using their mobile phones to record the operation despite repeated appeals by authorities to disperse for their safety, officials said.

    “We received a call about the presence of the leopard at a green belt area of Gandhi Nagar around 11. 30 am and rushed rescue teams with tranquillizer guns and cages,” Jammu’s Wildlife warden Anil Kumar Atri told PTI.

    He said the rescue teams managed to tranquillize the leopard and shifted it to Manda Zoo around 2 pm.

    In the process, a wildlife doctor and a helper were injured by the leopard and were hospitalized.

    A civilian, who was the first to be attacked by the animal, suffered serious injuries on his face and head, a police official said, adding he was shifted to the Government Medical College (GMC) Hospital.

    He said police parties from Gandhi Nagar police station also joined the rescue operation and tried to keep away the people.

    The leopard was spotted by a gardener inside the park and the Wildlife Department was informed immediately, the official said.

    The leopard had ventured into the city from the nearby forest last week and was spotted in the Bahu Fort area of Jammu city after which the people in the locality and adjoining areas were asked to remain cautious, the officials said.

  • MP: Leopard strays into Indore’s residential area; injures five

    By PTI
    INDORE: Five people, including a one-year-old girl, were injured in an attack by a leopard that strayed into a residential area here on Thursday, officials said.

    The big cat was later tranquilised and caught by the authorities after five hours of efforts, they said.

    The leopard ventured into Limbodi and its surrounding areas from a nearby forest and attacked five people- the toddler, a 30-year-old woman, one employee each of a zoo and the forest department, and a watchman, the officials said.

    “The leopard was trapped in an under-construction building in Limbodi area using a net and later tranquilised with the help of a dart gun,” Kamla Nehru Zoo in-charge Dr Uttam Yadav told PTI.

    The wild animal was caught after five hours of efforts, he said.

    Earlier, the leopard had dodged the forest staff a number of times and also tried to attack them and others.

    The feline is being taken to the zoo and once it regains consciousness, a medical examination will be conducted before it is released into the wild again, he said.

    Khemraj Rathore, a resident of Limbodi’s Shankar Mohalla, said, “The leopard entered my house as the door was open, and bit my wife.

    At that time, she was cooking and three children were studying inside.”

    “After hearing their screams, I scared away the leopard with a stick,” he said.

    Some videos related to the incident went viral on social media.

    One video shows a man, bleeding due to the leopard attack, frantically searching his daughter, whom the animal tried to catch.

    People present there try pacifying him by telling him that his daughter was taken to a hospital and he should also get his first-aid done.

    Another video shows the leopard coming out of the under-construction building and attacking a rescue team member, due to which the latter falls to the ground, following which people raise an alarm and the animal runs back into the concrete structure.

  • Leopard kills elderly man at village in Gujarat’s Gir forest

    By PTI
    AMRELI: A 75-year-old man was mauled to death by a leopard at a village in Gir forest of Gujarat’s Amreli district, a forest official said on Wednesday.

    Manubhai Savaliya’s body was recovered from a farm in Amrutpur village in Dalkhaniya range of Gir East division forest in the morning hours, deputy conservator of forests (DCF), Gir East, Anshuman Sharma said.

    “The partially-eaten body of a man killed by a leopard was found at a farm. Forest officials rushed to the spot and the police were also informed,” the official said.

    The village is surrounded by a reserved forest area with a sizable leopard population, he said.

    According to officials, it is suspected that the victim was mentally ill and was kept chained in the farm.

    The forest officials are trying to confirm this. Cages have been set up in the area to trap the predator, it was stated.

  • Leopard dies after being run over by goods train in Rajasthan’s Bundi

    By PTI
    KOTA: A two-and-a-half-year-old female leopard died here on Sunday, two days after she was run over by a goods train in Bundi district of the state.

    The leopardess was undergoing treatment at the Abheda Biological Park in Kota.

    She was run over on the Bundi-Chittor railway track near the Bheemlat tunnel on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

    A doctor who was on a three-member medical board that conducted an autopsy on the animal said it suffered critical injuries — a forelimb and the tail were severed, there was a deep wound on its forehead and multiple organs were damaged.

    “Most of its internal organs, including lungs, kidneys, intestine and spleen, were damaged, and it was impossible to save its life. On Saturday, the leopardess had awakened for a bit after five hours of treatment and made some body movement, which raised our hopes for its recovery,” Dr Vilasrao Gulhane said.

    But the animal died at 8.30 am on Sunday.

    The carcass was disposed of as per norms after the autopsy, he said.

    Meanwhile, wildlife enthusiasts alleged that the forest department was reckless in its attitude towards the safety of wild animals.

    Absence of advanced diagnostic technology for the animal in Kota and the lack of basic medical and tranquilising facilities in Bundi were the reasons for the death of the leopard, they claimed.

    The injured leopardess could have been saved had it been recovered immediately after the railway guard reported the incident at 2 am on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday, but the forest staff waited till Friday morning for a medical team to reach the spot from Kota to rescue the animal, said Vittal Sanadhya, a wildlife enthusiast in Bundi.