Wild leopard mauls 13 people on day-long rampage in Indian oil compound
By Suzannah HillsA wild leopard was shot dead after injuring 13 people during a day-long rampage in an oil company compound near an Indian village.
The fully grown male leopard managed to get inside the Oil India Limited field headquarters campus at Duliajan in the Dibrugarh district where he attacked several staff members.
The shocking photos show the animal attacking a security guard after he tried to rescue his colleague.
Forest guards were called to the scene and eventually managed to shoot the animal with a tranquillizer but were forced to kill it when the drug didn't take effect.
P Shiv Kumar, divisional forest officer of Digboi forest division, said: 'We were informed about a leopard straying into a bungalow of an Oil executive on Sunday morning.
'I accompanied a team of veterinary doctors from the Centre for Rehabilitation and Conservation of the Wildlife Trust of India to the spot.
'By the time we got there, the leopard had attacked five people. We tried to tranquillize the leopard, but it got agitated - which is normal before sedatives takes effect - and pounced on the large crowd gathered at the spot.
'The security personnel were left with no option but to shoot it.'
A forest official said leopards were often spotted on the Oil campus because of its proximity to the Joypore reserve forest.
Another leopard, a female, was caged by the forest department in neighbouring Sivasagar district early this morning.
Sivasagar divisional forest officer Ranjan Das said: 'At least four leopards have been sighted in the area in the past few days. The leopard family had killed several cattle in the area, as such we have placed a cage using a goat as a bait.'
He said the female leopard was later released at Abhayapur reserve forest and officers were trying to track down the remaining leopards.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2154296/Wild-leopard-mauls-13-people-day-long-rampage-Indian-oil-compound.html#ixzz1xGsYFagO
Leopard Injures 13 in India During Daylong Rampage | Outdoor Life
http://www.outdoorlife.com/blogs/newshound/2012/06/leopard-injures-13-india-during-day-long-rampage
June 05, 2012
Leopard Injures 13 in India During Daylong Rampage -
An adult male leopard injured 13 people in a bizarre daylong attack in India on Sunday. The incident occurred at the Oil India Limited field headquarters campus at Duliajan in the Dibrugarh district near the Joypore reserve forest. It is believed that the leopard initially came from the reserve.
Divisional forest officer P Shiv Kumar told the Mail Online, “We were informed about a leopard straying into a bungalow of an Oil executive on Sunday morning. By the time we got there, the leopard had attacked five people.
We tried to tranquillize the leopard, but it got agitated--which is normal before sedatives takes effect--and pounced on the large crowd gathered at the spot. The security personnel were left with no option but to shoot it.”
In this photo you can see an official trying to net the leopard while it mauls one of the bystanders.
This leopard was the fifth big cat to be spotted (no pun intended) in the area in the past several days. Leopards are protected in India where hunting has been outlawed since the late seventies.
While serial leopard attacks are not common, they're not unheard of either. In fact a handful of leopard attacks have made headlines in just the last few years. See the links below.
More leopard attack stories
- Leopard Attack! A True Story of Survival in the African Bush
- Leopard Attacks Indian Village, Injures 11 People
- Graphic Image Warning: Leopard Scalps Man in Brutal Attack
Over the weekend a man-eating leopard crept into Gauhati, a city in eastern India, and tore through the streets pouncing on unsuspecting pedestrians. It killed one person and mauled four others, including this man who had his scalp torn off in the horrific attack.
Photos taken by a local newspaper photographer show the man bracing just as the leopard pounces, it's left paw making a sweeping hook toward the man's head. The next photo shows the man after the swipe, his scalp sliced to the bone.
Fortunately the man survived and the leopard was eventually captured. Wildlife officials told the Associated Press that it would be released at a wildlife park 120 miles west of the city.
Leopard's are one of the most dangerous animals on the planet. And some experts even consider them more dangerous than other big cats like lions and tigers because of the leopard's speed, power, stealth and ferocity toward humans. These photos illustrate the incredible quickness of a leopard. Its swipe of the paw was so fast, it happened between frames.
In India, it's not uncommon for leopards to wander into cities or villages. Last July a leopard stalked into the Indian neighborhood of Prakash Nagar and mauled seven people before it was captured. That leopard was also captured and released into a wildlife area.
Find the details of that story and information on how to avoid a leopard attack here.
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