Ahmedabad: A leopard has been declared a
man-eater and orders have been issued to shoot it in Mandvi
taluka of Surat district, forest officials said here Saturday.
"The leopard which has created havoc in the villages near
the forest region in Mandvi has been ordered to be shot on
as it has already killed four human beings in the past couple
of weeks," Assistant Conservator of Forest (Mandvi) D S
Chaudhary said.
"The animal is a young male about 6-7 years old. It has
been declared a man-eater as it has already killed four
people, including a 11-year-old girl on Friday last," the
forest official said.
Chaudhary said the leopard was sighted yesterday and one
shot was fired, which injured the animal a little, but not
significantly enough.
A 5 km radius area has been cordoned off and round the
clock watch was on, he added.
"The search operation has been affected due to thick
vegetation. 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.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, November 28, 2010, 15:08