The wild cat recently killed four goats in Nogama village in Mandvi taluka of Surat. Prior to that, it had killed a calf too.
After a gap of more than a year, the leopard attacks have resurfaced in South Gujarat region, leaving people frightened.
The leopards attack the animals reared by the villagers. While the attacks have terrified the villagers, forest department is laying traps to catch the wild cat.
The wild cat recently killed four goats in Nogama village in Mandvi taluka of Surat. The leopard entered the village late in the night. According to the villagers, after killing the goats, the leopard dragged them to nearby bushes and devoured them.
Prior to this, the leopard had killed a calf too.
A similar incident took place on Thursday, when a leopard killed a cow at Medha village in Vyara taluka. The incident came to light after villagers found half-eaten body of cow in the outskirts of the village. Villagers said a week ago, a leopard tried to attack a buffalo, but couldn't succeed.
The recent leopard attacks have stunned the villager. And to deal with the situation, the forest officials have laid traps at places where the wild cat is expected. However, the villagers don't seem to be satisfied with this move.
Ranjit Chaudhry, a farmer of Nogama, said, "Just placing cages will not solve the problem. Forest officials should monitor the movement of leopards and then should place the cages accordingly. It has been four days since the traps have been laid, but all in vain." Meanwhile environmentalists claim that attacks have increased owing to reduction in forest cover.
"Uncontrolled wood-cutting in forest means intrusion into the hiding space of the wild cats. Sugarcane fields offer them good hiding place. As food is not easily available, the wild cats attack animals reared by the villagers," said Jagdish Parekh, a political leader and environmentalist.
Parekh is fighting for providing protection to the leopards for the past more than three years. He is strictly against killing of leopards, which are the identity of South Gujarat region.
Forest department officials claim that they are trying their best to catch the leopard behind the attacks.
"At present, we have placed cages at spots, where leopard is expected to pass. We have also initiated a search to find out the hide-out of leopards, so that they can be caught and later be freed in the jungle safely," said, N Chaudhry, RFO.
Mandvi taluka witnessed maximum attacks of leopards in late 2010. Five persons including one 11-year-old girl were killed in separate attacks.
This created fear among the people of the area. One leopard that was declared man-eater was shot down by the forest officials.
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