Girl mauled to death by leopard in Moradabad village

With the onset of winters, the incidents of man-animal conflicts are coming to fore in the Terai region. A 10-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard in Khwajapur village under Thakurdwar police station of Moradabad on Saturday.

The attack occurred five days after a 23-year-old man was injured in a leopard attack here.

Confirming the attack, divisional forest officer (DFO) of Moradabad, Kanhiya Patel said, “A girl, Mahima Mandeya, was attacked in a sugarcane field located near the village. The attack took place at around 5pm.”

The animal dragged the girl right in front of her two friends inside the sugarcane field. The girl’s family members and villagers surrounded the field, and as they closed in, the leopard fled the spot.

Mahima body was found by the villagers covered in blood with injuries on neck, thorax and abdomen. Enraged villagers attempted to chase the leopard but gave up as the night descended.

A large cat was also spotted in many villages located near the UP-Uttrakhand border. One of the sightings was in reported in Kanth area on Monday.

The attack and sightings have alerted the forest official to take measures to prevent the man-animal conflict that usually increases during winters.

According to wildlife experts, the big cats, including leopards and tigers, tend to move out in open area during winters that leads to an increase in possibilities of them coming in contact with humans.

A similar trend is observed each year in villages situated to close to Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR). On Sunday, a tiger was spotted by villagers in Madhotanda and Majhola area located near PTR.

In Pilibhit itself, over 20 people have been killed in tiger attacks since January 2017. Most of these deaths were reported in winters.

“Mitigating the chances of man-animal conflict during winters is one of the biggest concerns for us. To ensure this, we have already formed special quick reaction teams,” said divisional forest officer (DFO) of PTR Adarsh Kumar.

Similar measures are also being taken by the forest department of Moradabad. “We are working in tandem with local authorities to prevent such attacks in coming days. We have also decided to hold meetings with locals to aware them of the situation,” Patel said.

First Published: Dec 25, 2018 08:32 IST