2 villagers fight off leopards in separate attacks in U'khand

DEHRADUN/ALMORA: Two individuals - a man and a woman - fought off the leopards - one with a sickle and another with his bare legs - in separate attacks in Rudraprayag and Almora districts on Monday.

Deepa Devi, a resident of Makhet Gaon village, was cutting cattle fodder when a leopard pounced on her in Jakholi block, Rudraprayag district on Monday evening. Instead of succumbing to fear, she fought back, striking the leopard repeatedly with her sickle. Her cries for help alerted nearby villagers, who rushed to her aid, prompting the leopard to flee. Deepa was taken to the nearest hospital, where she was treated for leg injuries and discharged.

When asked about her ordeal, Deepa Devi said, "At that moment, my priority was saving myself, and the sickle was my saviour. I am alive and safe because of it." The local quick response team has been put on high alert to prevent further attacks.

The incident comes after another Kartik Singh, 15, was attacked by a leopard while he was on his way to school from Mahargaon leopard in the same area on Feb 20. Rudraprayag divisional forest officer (DFO) Abhimanyu Singh said, "We are conducting meetings in the villages to educate people on preventive measures for peaceful co-existence with wildlife. Villagers need to return to traditional practices, such as venturing into the forest in groups and avoiding isolated roads."

In Almora, Ramesh Khatri, 43, was travelling with his family from Delhi to his native village Garsain in Chamoli district after picking up his daughter, a student who lives in the national capital's Rohini locality. A leopard pounced on him as he alighted from his car in Danapani block on the fringes of Corbett Tiger Reserve to relieve himself.

The leopard dragged him about 200 metres towards the dense forest, but Khatri fought back, continuously kicking the big cat. The confrontation lasted about five minutes, before people and motorists nearby intervened, forcing the leopard to let go of him and retreat into the forest. Khatri was taken to a hospital in Ramnagar, where he is recovering and is out of danger. While some onlookers said a tiger from the Corbett reserve had pounced on Khatri, forest department officials said the claw marks on Khatri's body and face confirmed that he was ambushed by a leopard.

Meanwhile, forest teams in Dehradun are patrolling the Malsi forest range in search of a man-eater leopard. MLA Ganesh Joshi, on behalf of the forest department, has also provided financial assistance to the family of Riasat Ali, a nine-year-old boy who was killed by a leopard on the outskirts of Dehradun.

The forest department said efforts are underway to use drones to locate the big cat. This year, over a dozen people have been attacked by leopards in Uttarakhand, resulting in the deaths of four children.