Almost 48 hours after a leopard grabbed a toddler playing in her front yard in Uttarakhand¡¯s Rudraprayag district, a team of three shooters has killed it. As per TNN, this is the seventh maneating leopard to be shot dead in the state in 2021.?
The attack occurred on July 24 when a one-and-half-year-old girl was dragged away in Silla-Bahman village in Jakholi tehsil. A forest team searched but came up empty and then a team of shooters was deployed.
Shooter Joy Hukil ¡ª for whom the leopard is the 42nd maneater he has put down ¡ª said the leopard was an 8-year-old female and had to be killed after it attacked a forest ranger during rescue efforts.?
While village residents were relieved after news spread that the animal had been put down, the bereaved family is yet to find closure as there was no trace of the victim¡¯s body.?
Rajneesh Lohani, range officer of North Jakholi range (Rudraprayag forest division), said an initial amount of Rs 1.2 lakh has been paid to the family as compensation. ¡°We have not released the full ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh because we are yet to find the body. Usually, we find blood-stained clothes of the victim or other such evidence, but in this case we haven¡¯t found anything so far,¡± he said.?
Meanwhile, another man who was left battling for his life after being attacked by a leopard in Dakuda ghat village in Pithoragarh district died on Monday, taking the toll of those who died in leopard attacks this year to 19. Five of the victims were attacked in the last 10 days alone.?
This comes even as the search is still on for a maneater that killed a 10-year-old boy in Pithoragarh¡¯s Pali village in Gangolihaat last week.?
Forest officials said six maneaters who were put down earlier had all been suffering from physical disabilities, including injured paw and broken canines. ¡°A disability can make it harder for the animal to attack robust prey, turning them into maneaters,¡± said J S Suhag, chief wildlife warden of the Uttarakhand forest department.?