Udaipur: Leopard kills 2 in 10 days, may be termed maneater

UDAIPUR: The forest department is considering to declare a leopard “maneater” after it killed a man and a boy in the past 10 days in Parsad forest range area of Udaipur district. The last time a leopard was shot dead after being declared a maneater was in Rajsamand's Haldighati area in 1995.
The last prey of the leopard was a 15-year-old boy who was attacked and killed on Monday evening when he was playing in a field in Aifafala of Chanavda village in Parsad block. The villagers had refused to shift the body from the place where it was spotted. While the forest authorities were holding a mediation talk with the residents late Tuesday night, the wild cat struck again and dragged away the body in front of the large gathering.
According to deputy conservator of forest Ajay Chittora, “A team of 110 personnel have been deployed in the entire area covering Bara, Patiya, Paduna and Chanavda. Villagers have been warned not to step out of their homes after dark and they are completely co-operating with us. We have traced some pugmarks of the big cat. One of our teams is stationed on the top most of a hill so that we are the first one the leopard has to face once it enters the settlement,” he said.
The officer said that he is awaiting the order to shoot the leopard once it is declared "maneater". The department may hire sharpshooters adept at hunting down wild animals declared man eater. The recommendation report was sent to higher officials on Tuesday after a mass protest by the locals in Chanavda area, he said.
Earlier, the leopard had dragged away a 40-year-old sleeping man from his home in Barapal village and eaten one of his legs on July 24. People had feared repeated attacks and raised suspicion that the animal had turned a maneater. Their suspicion grew strong when the leopard attacked again and killed a 15-year-old boy playing in the fields on Monday evening. There were cattle near him but the wild cat did not attack the animals.