Leopard kills tourist in Rajaji Tiger Reserve

A tourist was killed by a leopard inside Rajaji Tiger Reserve on Sunday night -- 14th such incidents in the area in the past two years.

Eight tourists went inside Motichur range where after crossing a bridge they halted to attend nature’s call, said the reserve management.

At the time, a leopard attacked 50-year-old Chandmal, a resident of Haryana, from behind and dragged him into the dense forest.

Other members of the group launched a search for him and found his body a few metres from the spot.

“It’s carelessness of the tourists that they stepped outside their vehicle,” said Sanatan Sonkar, Rajaji director.

Motichur range is the core area of the reserve and as per officers, 14 leopards are active in the area. With the fresh incident, the big cats have killed 14 people in the region and mauled over 20 in the past two years.

Leopard conflict around the reserve is high especially when the tigers are breeding in the core area. Areas like Raiwala and Shyampur have reported several such incidents where leopards have mauled locals.

“There’s no doubt that leopards have terrorised people residing around the reserve. The forest department should chalk out a plan to mitigate this risk,” said Dinesh Pandey, a Haridwar-based activist.