Maneater leopard that killed a child and elderly woman in Ahilyanagar’s Kopargaon shot dead

Nashik: A six-year-old male leopard that had killed a three-year-old girl and a 60-year-old woman on Nov 5 and 10, respectively, at Yesgaon-Takli in Ahilyanagar's Kopargaon taluka, was shot dead by a 20-member team of forest officials around 9.45pm on Saturday."This is the same leopard that had recently killed a child and the elderly woman. The pugmarks retrieved from the two sites located within 500m of each killing matched with those of the leopard that was shot down. It was the only leopard present within a 1km radius area of Yesgaon-Takli," Ganesh Misal, Ahilyanagar assistant conservator of forest, told TOI,Residents of Yesgaon-Takli alerted forest officials on Saturday about the leopard's presence near the poultry farm along the Takli-Sonari Road. The forest team arrived swiftly, armed with guns. Dr Rajeev Shinde shot the leopard at 9.45 pm and declared him dead.This ended an 11-day chase that began after three-year-old Nandini Chavan was killed on Nov 5 while playing in her courtyard. Though the wild cat tried to drag her away, her family's cries forced it to flee. Nandini later died from her injuries.Misal said Nandini's death triggered an angry protest by villagers who blocked the Ahilyanagar-Manmad highway. Five days later, on Nov 10, 60-year-old Shantabai Nikole was killed in a leopard attack while working on her farm, prompting another five-hour highway blockade."We had put up 15 cages and had deployed three teams to tranquilise the animal with dart guns. Two thermal drones were also deployed to trace the leopard. But the leopard kept moving from one place to another," added Misal.Misal said that on Nov 10, the principal chief forest conservator (wildlife), Nagpur, granted permission to cage or shoot the leopard. Rescue teams from Nashik and Pune, along with sharpshooter Dr Rajeev Shinde and personnel from the forest areas of Rahuri, Sangamner, Kopargaon and Takli Dhokeshwar, were then deployed. As soon as the leopard's location was confirmed on Saturday, the teams moved in and shot the maneater dead.

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