Leopard kills 3-year-old

The headless body of a three-year-old boy snatched from his home by a leopard in India was handed over to his parents yesterday, wildlife officials said. Wasim Akram was in the kitchen with his mother when the animal snuck inside, pounced on the child and took him deep into the woods, officials said. Local officials in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir have sought “elimination orders” from the state government.

It was the third such killing blamed on the leopard in the last two months, including an eight-year-old boy mauled to death in the area on December 7. In the mean time a team of wildlife officials equipped with tranquiliser guns have been scouring the area to spot the animal. “The leopard was spotted this morning but we could not trap it,” Jammu regional wildlife warden Tahir Ahmad Shawl said. Wildlife authorities have also issued advice for people in the area to stay safe from animal attacks.

“This is a forested area and humans have entered into their (animals’) habitat and not the other way round. Therefore these incidents happen,” Shawl said. Official estimates suggest there are between 12,000 and 14,000 leopards in India.