Villagers kill 7-yr-old leopard

India: A leopard that attacked six persons at Myduru village in Harapanahalli taluk was killed by angry villagers on Tuesday .

The seven-year-old leopard had been hiding in a haystack in a shed belonging to Danal Vrushabhendrappa. When Vrushabhendrappa entered the shed at 3.30pm to fetch fodder for his cattle, the big cat attacked him.

Hearing his cries, some villagers rushed to the shed with wooden logs and tried to attack the animal. In the melee, five more persons were injured. The angry vil lagers then chased the animal for over an hour and killed it by hitting it with wooden logs.

The villagers then staged a protest and demanded compensation for those injured in the attack. DFO Rajashekharan, RFO MS Abdul Basheer and Harapanahalli police pacified the villagers.

“The village is located in the vicinity of Chigateri forest range. We are trying to instal cattle-proof trenches to prevent their entry into the village,“ forest officers said.

DFO Rajashekharan added that he has asked the government to sanction Rs 20,000 for each of the injured.“I have also given Rs 5,000 to each of them and promised them that their medical ex penses will be borne by the government,“ he added.

The injured villagers are: Morageri Neelakantappa, 55; Bangli Basavanagowda, 30; Harijan Revappa, 35; Danal Vrushabhendrappa, 45; Talwar Mallikarjun, 38 and Sharanappa, 55.

An autopsy was conducted on the animal on Wednesday . A case has been booked against the villagers under the Wildlife Protection Act for killing the leopard.

(Source: Times of India)