Leopard that killed 2 children shot dead in Chamoli

DEHRADUN

: After 10 days of rigorous combing operations by three shooters and other forest officials, a

leopard

that had killed two children was shot dead in Chamoli district on Friday night.

The seven-year-old leopard was declared as ‘dangerous to human life’ after it killed a four-year-old boy in Bhayada Malethi village and a 11-year-old girl in Gairbam village of Narayanbagarh forest range in Chamoli district on June 29 and May 29 respectively.

The big cat was shot dead when it returned to the spot of its second kill on Friday night. Chamoli divisional forest officer (

DFO

) Ashutosh Singh said, “The leopard, which had killed both the children, was identified by its pugmarks. The villages of both the victims are aerially less than 2 km apart. It was finally shot dead by shooter Joy Hukkil when it revisited Gairbaum village, just 100 metres away from its second kill.”

According to sources, this is the third leopard to be shot in the state since January while six have been declared as ‘dangerous to human life’.

Meanwhile, forest officials are on the lookout for two more leopards in Almora and Nainital that have killed three persons each.

Sources said that the big cat in Almora had killed three persons since April and a ‘red alert’ has been issued to villagers in

Bhasiyachana

block where it is currently active. They added that shooters from Nainital and Bijnor have been deployed in the area to trace the animal.

Almora DFO Mahatim Yadav

said, “Our preliminary investigation by camera traps,

pugmark

analysis and combing of the forests has revealed that these deaths were caused by a single leopard. We have issued a 12-point advisory to villagers to remain alert.”

Similarly, in

Nainital district

, forest officials are planning to deploy shooters to locate the big cat which has killed three persons.

Nainital DFO Bijulal

said, “We have received an approval from the authorities concerned to either catch or kill the animal. We are going to deploy shooters in the vulnerable zones along with intensive patrolling and camera-trapping.”

Notably, as many as 12 people have been killed by leopards in the state this year.