Man, 55, killed in leopard attack; 5th death in 8 days

Dehradun: A 55-year-old man was killed on Tuesday in a leopard attack in the Sahaspur forest area, around 30 km from Dehradun. This is the fifth death due to big cat attacks in the state in eight days.The deceased, a farmer from Sahaspur village, had gone to the forest to collect fodder. When he did not return by afternoon, family members alerted villagers and forest officials. A search was launched, and his body was found in a mutilated condition, partially consumed.Sahaspur range officer Pankaj Dhyani said, “The forest area is spread over nearly 135 hectares. The man appears to have ventured deep inside and had a chance encounter with the leopard.”The incident has left villagers worried. “We have to carry out our daily chores. Staying indoors is difficult, but the leopard may turn man-eater. It should be identified and trapped,” said Madhu Rani, 43, a resident of adjacent Chaurpur village.Forest officials have urged people in the Sahaspur range to avoid entering forests. “The area has not witnessed human-wildlife conflict in at least the last four years. A postmortem will be conducted,” an official said.The first incident in the recent spate was reported on March 31, when a tiger killed an elderly person in Almora. This was followed by another attack in Khatima, where a woman was killed. A four-year-old child was later killed by a leopard, and on April 3, another woman was killed in Jyolikot, suspected to be by a leopard.To ascertain the animals involved, DNA samples have been sent to the Wildlife Institute of India, officials said. In Pauri, a leopard has been declared a man-eater and teams are tracking its movement. Camera traps and cages have been installed in other areas to strengthen surveillance.