Lioness, leopard maul infant, toddler in Guj

AMRELI: An infant and a three-year-old boy were mauled to death by a lioness and a leopard in separate incidents in Gujarat’s Amreli district, forest department officials said on Tuesday.

The lioness took away a five-month-old boy who was sleeping with his family of daily wagers out in the open near Khara village in Liliya taluka early Tuesday morning, said Deputy Conservator of Forests Jayan Patel.

“The baby’s skull was later found about half a kilometre from where he was picked up. From the footmarks and the version of locals, we believe it is the work of a lioness,” he said. Forest staff teams were scanning the area and cages would be set up to catch the lioness, he said. Two veterinary doctors have also been kept on standby, he added.

In another incident, a three-year-old boy was killed after being attacked by a leopard in Karjala village of Savarkundla taluka here on Monday night, forest officials said. The forest staff later caged the leopard, they said.