Five villagers injured in leopard attack in Barwani

Barwani: Five villagers were injured in a leopard attack in Warla forest range of Barwani district on Wednesday. The big cat, which tried to escape from the spot by climbing a tree died after falling from it."The incident occurred around 8.30 am in compartment number 497 of Warla forest range under Sendhwa forest division near Junapani village," Sendhwa DFO IS Gadria told TOI."Villagers had gone to the nearby forest to graze goats when they encountered two leopards. One of them, who appeared to be healthy, moved away from the location. The second one is believed to have attacked Jivan (25) after he attempted to flee. Hearing his cries, other villagers, including his father Nanda, rushed to help and tried to drive the big cat away. During the chaos, the animal attacked four more persons, leaving all of them injured," the DFO said.The injured, all residents of Junapani village, were initially taken to govt hospital in Warla and administered first aid. They were later referred to Sendhwa Civil Hospital. Sources at the hospital said that all injured have been referred to MY Hospital in Indore."Forest department staff reached the spot and found the leopard, a male approximately two years old, in a critical condition. The big cat had sustained injuries during confrontation with villagers and later climbed a tree in its attempt to escape. Due to its weak condition, it lost grip and fell, suffering critical injuries. The leopard died before it could be shifted for treatment," he said. The carcass was taken to forest rest house in Warla for postmortem examination."Preliminary findings revealed an old, deep wound on one of its hind paws. Its stomach was empty, indicating that the animal had not consumed food or water for some time. We believe the leopard was unable to hunt effectively, which may have led to the attack," DFO said.He said that villagers acted in self-defence and had no intention of hunting or harming the animal. "It is a clear case of human-wildlife conflict," he added.In view of the possibility that the second leopard may still pose a threat, forest teams have begun tracking its pugmarks and are installing cages in the area to capture it.