Scared kin & scarred survivors of leopard attacks want felines gone

PUNE: Three-year-old Ayush Shinde was walking with his grandmother when a leopard sprang out of the sugar cane field, grabbed him by his head and dragged him away.

Ayush saw his uncle approaching on his motorcycle, let go of his grandmother's hand and ran towards the vehicle. That's when the leopard struck.

The entire neighbourhood ran to rescue him, shouting and creating a din. The leopard let go of the boy and fled. Ayush covered in blood walked back to the road and into the safety of his parents' arms.

But the feline's teeth had punctured Ayush's skull and his eye was injured. The boy had deep scratches all over his face and body.

The leopard attack happened on March 11 this year in Umbraj village of Junnar. Today, the scars cover his face. But Ayush shows you a video of the entire incident when the leopard snatched him. He smiles when his parents call him strong as they recall his ordeal and how he got away.

Ayush's mother Bhagyashree said they were horrified and thought that they had lost their son that day.

Leopard attack victim Ayush's mother Bhagyashree Shinde said that when the three-year-old boy walked out of the field bathed in blood, they grabbed him and took him to the local hospital but were told to go to Pune.

"There was no time. If Ayush was not treated within five hours, he would have been paralysed on his left side. Thankfully, the doctor in the rural hospital saved him. He has 41 stitches that hold his scalp together. However, there is a massive hole in his skull which can only be fixed when he is 14 as it is delicate right now. The bone will have to be replaced. A lot of his brain tissue was also damaged," Bhagyashree said.

The parents are worried about his future. "He has not started school this year as he is only just recovering. At some point, he will need to live on his own, and with many challenges. How will he face them?" Bhagyashree said.

Her neighbours said their children play in the front yard every day and leopards simply walk around. The Shinde family is building a gate with an iron mesh now. They don't want another run-in with the leopard.

But Ayush has come out stronger. He stands guard with a stick when he hears the villagers call out for a leopard. "It feels like we are more affected by this than he is," his family said.

Currently, the forest department has paid them Rs 5 lakh for his hospital bills and have promised the rest in the form of an FD. Ayush will need plastic surgery.

"We want a letter from the department stating that they will give the rest of the money when he turns 14 for the major operation on his skull. Officers come and go, but medical expenses stay forever," Bhagyashree said.

In Lende Sthal, another Junnar village, 25-year-old Ashwini Hulawale sits with her baby girl. On May 6 this year, a leopard had caught by her neck wounding her so badly that her vocal cords are gone, she can hardly speak, and she almost died. She said she will never set foot in the fields again, even if it meant an economic loss.

She recounted her brush with the leopard. "I was working in a field one evening bending over when the leopard caught me by my head and threw her back on the field. I fell unconscious. Sinking its teeth into my neck, the leopard dragged me further into the field, but my mother shouted for help. The leopard ran away when it heard the racket," she said.

Ashwini was treated in a hospital, but the leopard's teeth sank into her brain and she is partially paralysed on her right side. She carries a scar under her left eye.

The villagers never go out to the fields alone any more. They carry torches and sticks to defend themselves against any attacks. Peaceful coexistence with the leopards is a thing of the past now.


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