Leopard killed in fierce encounter with man, son

Rajkot: Desperate screams and the leopard's roars tore through the quiet of a wintry night in a village in Gir Somnath district as a fierce human-animal encounter broke out, ultimately ending in the killing of the wild cat.While Gir Somnath, which is infested with lions and leopards, is no stranger to wild cats' attacks on humans, the Wednesday night confrontation in Gangda village was a rare incident that resulted in the leopard's death.
Around 10 pm, a leopard suddenly emerged and knocked over a two-wheeler parked near the house of farmer Babu Vaja. Vaja, who was sleeping on the veranda, woke up to the noise. "Before I could understand anything, the leopard attacked me on my forearm. I screamed for help, and my son Shadud woke up. The leopard left my arm and attacked him," said Vaja, speaking from his bed in the govt hospital in Una town. The father-son duo suffered multiple injuries to their hands, head and shoulders.Shadud (27) said the leopard alternated between attacking him and his father during the struggle. "In between, my father managed to get hold of weapons and attacked the leopard in self-defence," he said.Forest officials said the animal died after it was struck on the head with a spear and a billhook.The forest department recovered the weapons used in the incident and sent the leopard's body for post-mortem.L B Bharvad, range forest officer (RFO) of Jasadhar, said statements from the injured will be recorded after their medical condition improves.The 2 were later booked under the Wildlife Protection Act for killing the Schedule-I animal."An offence under the Wildlife Protection Act was registered. We will investigate whether they had the opportunity to flee or drive away the leopard instead of killing it. A detailed report will be submitted after the investigation," he said.