Sunday, March 11, 2012

Leopard kills infant in Sutrapada village

11-03-2012
Leopard kills infant in Sutrapada village
Times of India
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/rajkot/Leopard-kills-infant-in-Sutrapada-village/articleshow/12213901.cms

In one more incident of leopard attack on humans, a one-year-old girl was mauled to death by the wild cat in Khambha village of Sutrapada taluka in Junagadh district on Friday night. Forest department officials said, the leopard dragged away Sapna Damor, originally a Madhya Pradesh resident, from a makeshift hut in a sugarcane field and killed her. The attack is said to have happened around 2.00 am.

When Sapna's family members woke up at night, they found her missing from the hut and searched out in the nearby area. "She was found dead in the sugarcane field in the nearby area," said a forest department official.

According to B V Padsala, range forest officer, Veraval range, three cages have been placed in the area to nab the leopard and a wildlife rescue team has been called in to catch the big cat.

"The family of migrant workers was working in a sugarcane crushing unit at Khambha village. Mostly, migrant workers, who do not know about the presence of wild animals in the area, tend to stay in the open which makes them more vulnerable to attacks during the sugarcane harvest season," Padsala said.

It was only on February 10 that a leopard had dragged away 12-year-old girl Nirmal Puwar in Ghantiya village of Sutrapada taluka.

Forest department sources said that at least five people have been killed by leopards in Junagadh district since past one year. "This is a serious issue as it mostly happens during the harvest of sugarcane. In February, large number of migrant labourers arrive to work in sugarcane fields. Their employers don't provide enough shelter. These labourers mostly stay in the farm and open area," said Dinesh Goswami, a wildlife activist from Kodinar.

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