Leopard drags 2-year-old into forest in Bhandup, kills her
RELATED
MUMBAI: A two-year-old girl living in the slums on the periphery of Sanjay Gandhi National Park
(SGNP) was attacked and killed by a leopard in Bhandup late on Saturday
night. This is the third incident of a leopard attacking humans, since
July. After the incident, forest officials are wondering if there is a
man-eater in the national park.
The incident took place around 10pm when two-year-old Usha Vinayak Yadav went to answer nature's call along with her mother. Usha lived in Adivasipada, located on the periphery of the forest.
According to police officials, Usha's mother stood 15-20 feet away while the victim entered the bushes to relieve herself. No sooner did Usha enter the bushes, the leopard jumped from the forest and grabbed Usha. The animal then dragged the child beyond the boundary and disappeared.
"There is no light in the area where the victim went and the leopard suddenly sprang up. The area where the child was, is part of forest land. Usha's mother screamed for help, but no one could locate the leopard or the child as it was very dark," said Srirang Nadgauda, senior police inspector, Bhandup. Nadgauda said that the child's limbs and head were found 200m-300m inside the forest on Sunday. Police officials said that the incident has created panic among the locals.
With this being the third incident of a leopard attack in the last five months, forest officials and those working in SGNP are wondering if there is a man-eater in the forest. Officials have denied a man-eater's presence in the forest.
In July, a five-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a leopard when she had gone into the forest alone to answer nature's call. Earlier this month, a 50-year-old woman was attacked and killed in a similar fashion when she went to relieve herself.
"This is a very sad incident. Just like the past two cases, the child was squatting when the leopard attacked. The animal may have mistaken the child for a small animal. Leopards often wander towards the edge of the forest in search of easy prey," said Krishna Tiwari, from City Forest Initiative. A forest official said that most slums are located on the periphery, which doesn't have a boundary wall.
"Most of those living in the hutments go towards the forest to relieve themselves in the night. The area is usually dark and the grass is about 2-3m tall. Hence, they are not able to spot the animal and are taken by surprise," said a senior forest official. "We are trying to find out if the same animal is behind these attacks or if it is a matter of chance. For now, we insist that there is no man-eater in the forest," he added. Officials said rehabilitation of the hutments in the area is the need of the hour so that the forest area is inhabited only by animals. "Only then will the man-animal conflict be minimized," a forest official said.
The incident took place around 10pm when two-year-old Usha Vinayak Yadav went to answer nature's call along with her mother. Usha lived in Adivasipada, located on the periphery of the forest.
According to police officials, Usha's mother stood 15-20 feet away while the victim entered the bushes to relieve herself. No sooner did Usha enter the bushes, the leopard jumped from the forest and grabbed Usha. The animal then dragged the child beyond the boundary and disappeared.
"There is no light in the area where the victim went and the leopard suddenly sprang up. The area where the child was, is part of forest land. Usha's mother screamed for help, but no one could locate the leopard or the child as it was very dark," said Srirang Nadgauda, senior police inspector, Bhandup. Nadgauda said that the child's limbs and head were found 200m-300m inside the forest on Sunday. Police officials said that the incident has created panic among the locals.
With this being the third incident of a leopard attack in the last five months, forest officials and those working in SGNP are wondering if there is a man-eater in the forest. Officials have denied a man-eater's presence in the forest.
In July, a five-year-old girl was attacked and killed by a leopard when she had gone into the forest alone to answer nature's call. Earlier this month, a 50-year-old woman was attacked and killed in a similar fashion when she went to relieve herself.
"This is a very sad incident. Just like the past two cases, the child was squatting when the leopard attacked. The animal may have mistaken the child for a small animal. Leopards often wander towards the edge of the forest in search of easy prey," said Krishna Tiwari, from City Forest Initiative. A forest official said that most slums are located on the periphery, which doesn't have a boundary wall.
"Most of those living in the hutments go towards the forest to relieve themselves in the night. The area is usually dark and the grass is about 2-3m tall. Hence, they are not able to spot the animal and are taken by surprise," said a senior forest official. "We are trying to find out if the same animal is behind these attacks or if it is a matter of chance. For now, we insist that there is no man-eater in the forest," he added. Officials said rehabilitation of the hutments in the area is the need of the hour so that the forest area is inhabited only by animals. "Only then will the man-animal conflict be minimized," a forest official said.
==================================================
Forest dept to trap man-eating leopard
Hindustan Times-03-Nov-2012Following the death of 50-year-old Sitabai Paage, who was killed by a ... hunt for the leopard by setting up two trap cages in the forest behind ... Paage's nephew Ganesh Kharpade, 26, saw the leopard dragging his aunt away.
Man-eating leopard in Nepal kills 15 villagers in just over a year: 10 ...
Daily Mail-03-Nov-2012The severed head of the latest victim, a 4-year-old boy, was found in the forest ... The police chief suspects that a single leopard, at most two, with a ... After killing its victim, the leopard drags the body away into the forest to eat.Show more
Man-Eating Leopard Devours 15 So Far
ABC News (blog)-05-Nov-2012A rogue leopard believed to have killed – and eaten – up to 15 ... The severed head of the latest victim, a 4-year-old boy, was found on Saturday in a forested area nearly 400 ... leopard struck, killing the boy then dragging the body into the forest. ... Of the 15 victims so far, two-thirds are children from remote ...
No comments:
Post a Comment