Yamunanagar: Farm labourer injured in leopard attack after he tried to bury dog hunted by predator

AMBALA: A farm laborer got injured in a leopard attack in the agricultural fields near Khizrabad (Partap Nagar) town in Yamunanagar district on Wednesday, after he attempted to bury a dead dog that was reportedly hunted by the predator.
Partap Nagar SHO inspector Rakesh Kumar told, injured has been identified as Raj Kumar (in 50s) of Kutipur village in Yamunanagar district, who was bitten by the leopard on his left arm.Raj Kumar was rushed to the hospital at Partap Nagar, where he was given for the injury, said the SHO.
As per the information, after being attacked by a leopard, Raj shouted for help and others working nearby rushed to rescue him. They tried to scare and drive the animal away but it got hid in the nearby wheat fields.
The incident created an environment of fear among the farmers of the area who were harvesting the wheat crop in their fields. Farmers said they fear for life as the animal could attack them.
“The local administration should keep a vigil, so that wild animals like leopard do not enter the fields and human habitats of the area,” said Rajeev Walia, former sarpanch of Pratap Nagar.
Sources from the Kalesar Wildlife Sanctuary told, on Wednesday early morning, a leopard came out of the jungle on the outskirts of Partap Nagar town on Khijri village road and it hunted a dog for prey but could not take it along to a safer place due to increase in human activity in morning.
After receiving the information, the wildlife officials including Kalesar forest range officer Kuldeep Singh, wildlife inspector Sunil Kumar, Partap Nagar SHO, area tehsildar, naib tehsildar reached the spot to control the situation.
Wildlife inspector Sunil Kumar from the Kalesar forest range told, “A farm labourer who was working in the agriculture field spotted a dead dog, unaware of the fact that it was hunted by a leopard, he started digging a pit to bury the dog. The injured man was unaware of the presence of a leopard nearby and when he attempted to bury the dog, the animal attacked him on his left arm in an attempt to save his food. When he scared the animal and shouted for help it fled away.”
“For the whole day, we kept the leopard confronted from three sides, and left one side open towards the forest which is just a few kilometers away from the spot. The animal is sitting inside a wheat field and we are hopeful that it will leave towards the jungle in the night. The Kalesar sanctuary is around 15 kilometers by road from here, while for the animal-like leopard the passage is short. We are making best efforts to catch it but it is hidden and we do not want to panic the animal and waiting for it to leave under our vigil from the area”, added inspector Sunil.