Shoot-at-sight orders issued for man-eater leopard in Mandvi

"The leopard which has created havoc in the villages near forest region in Mandvi has been ordered to be shot on sighting as it has already killed and eaten four human beings in the past couple of weeks," Assistant Conservator of Forest, Mandvi, D S Chaudhary told PTI.

"The wild animal is a young male about 6-7 years and is well built. It has been declared a man-eater as it has already killed four human beings, the latest being that of a 11-year-old girl on Friday last," the forest official said.

Chaudhary said during watch yesterday the leopard was sighted and one shot was fired, which seemed to have injured him a little, but not significantly to pull him down.
Region in the radius of 5 km has been cordoned off and round the clock watch was on in the forest region, he added.

"The search operation has been affected due to thick vegetation in the forest region. Also, since the leopard is young and healthy he is quick and powerful and manages to escape in the thick forest where the visibility is only upto a few meters," Chaudhary said adding round the clock efforts are on to nab the wild cat.