Leopards in Bihar face threat from locals

A fortnight ago, villagers near the Valmikinagar Tiger Reserve (VTR), some 300 km  from here, had killed a leopard after it strayed into the house of a local.

The feline had mauled villager Hosila Patel to death after it entered his hut in Shahpur village under Bagaha district in North Bihar. Enraged over the incident, hundreds of angry locals assembled there armed with traditional weapons like spears, axe and lathis.
Though forest department officials pleaded with the mob to spare the endangered animal, the irate villagers pierced the leopard to death.

“The leopard twice made unsuccessful attempts to come out of the hut, and in the process injured many people. This further infuriated the villagers who tried to snatch the rifles from policemen in order to shoot the animal,” said Sub-Divisional Police Officer Md Abdullah, who was present there.

Eventually, the leopard was attacked with traditional weapons and beaten to death.