The forest department has nabbed a male leopard believed to be behind several attacks on humans in the Bandi village of Chhota Udepur taluka in Gujarat. The animal was nabbed after a six-hour operation.
The wild cat is believed to have been behind four attacks in a span of three days. In the first attack, the animal killed one Baloobhai Rathva at around 9am. Later, on January 6, three more attacks were recorded. In the first one, Mittal Rathva was injured and had to be rushed to the hospital. A two-year-old boy Chirag Rathva was also grabbed by the neck by the cat, leading to his death. In the third incident, Ramsinh Rathva was injured severely after being attacked by the animal.
Nilesh Pandya, DCF, in-charge, Chhota Udepur division said that in all, over 100 people were involved in tracking and trapping the cat.
"We believe the male leopard was behind the attacks but a confirmation can only be made after some time," said Pandya.
This is the second instance of a 'man-eater' leopard being trapped. Earlier, the government had given the go-ahead to shoot a leopard in Dahod that had been behind attacks on several humans. The department had however managed to successfully trap the leopard.
ANIMAL DEFUSED
- The wild cat is believed to have been behind four attacks in a span of three days.
- In the first attack, the animal killed one Baloobhai Rathva at around 9am. A two-year-old boy was also grabbed by the neck by the cat, leading to his death.
