Leopard injures two in Jamwaramgarh area

A leopard attacked and injured two persons in a village in Jamwaramgarh area near Jaipur on Sunday morning.

The injured were taken to a clinic and discharged after treatment, forest officials said.

According to reports, a leopard got stuck in a boundary wire around a field in Dipola village. Villagers gathered at the spot and informed the forest department officials about the animal. The forest department officials were in the midst of discussion over tranquilising the leopard, when it suddenly broke free and attacked two people before running away towards the hills into the forest.

“Everything happened so suddenly that there was no time to react,” said an eyewitness.

Senior forest officials said that the leopard could have come from the nearby forest in search of water. Animals come to the villages in search of water during summer, they added.

The injured were identified as a forest department employee, Shiv Kumar, and a villager, Hanuman Paridwal. Kumar received injuries in his forehead and Paridwal hurt his hands. Both were discharged after treatment at a local clinic.

There has been an increase in the incidents of man-animal conflict in Rajasthan.

In April this year, a leopard had mauled a woman defecating in the open at Kanoj village under Salumber tehsil of Udaipur district. She received injuries on her head and neck and was discharged after treatment.

In another incident in April, a hungry leopard attacked a villager at Bhabhru gram panchayat in Shahpura area of Jaipur. In order to save the victim, the two-year-old leopard was beaten to death by villagers. Post mortem report revealed that the leopard’s stomach was empty.

In January, two villagers were mauled by a leopard at Peelu village under Chauhtan tehsil of Barmer district.

According to the Wildlife Census 2016, there are total 41 leopards in Jaipur — Nahargarh (7), Nahargarh Biological Park (4), Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF), Jaipur (21) and DCF, Jaipur North (9).

Rajasthan has 508 leopards. Kumbalgarh (95), Mount Abu (46), Sita Mata (40), Todgarh Raoli (35) and Panther Conservation Reserve, Sumerpur (28) have the maximum number of leopards.

Rajasthan is the first state in the country that has launched a project to conserve leopards by improving their prey base, mitigating conflicts with humans and controlling poaching. The project was launched in March 2017.

Leopard is an endangered animal under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.