Leopard kills calf in Waghodia

Vadodara: Residents of Falod village in Waghodia taluka have been living in scare for the past two days after a leopard entered a cow shed and killed a calf early on Saturday morning.
Locals said that a leopard partially ate the calf and left.

“Locals told us that the leopard attacked the calf and disappeared after sometime. But no one has seen the leopard,” a forest official told TOI. “We will soon keep a cage near this village to trap the leopard,” the official added.

The forest officials, however, are sceptical about trapping the leopard. “A leopard was seen three times in this vicinity. It had earlier attacked cattle in Popdipura village near Goraj. We think that it is the same leopard. But it is tough to trap it as it doesn’t spend much time at the same spot. It keeps travelling from one place to another,” the forest official said. Residents of several villages in Waghodia, meanwhile, are keeping vigil on their cattle during nights.

The leopard is suspected to be moving in the range of 20 to 25 km. It usually attacks the cattle late in the night and then moves on. Last month, the forest department had rescued a leopard after it attacked humans in four different incidents. Forest officials had laid trap and kept watch in the vicinity where the leopard was seen for days.