Leopard attacks 4-yr-old girl in Gudalur
The family members and neighbours came to her rescue after hearing her loud wailing and they chased away the animal.
Representative image
COIMBATORE: In a fresh incident, a four-year-old girl came under a leopard attack in Gudalur, in the Nilgiris district. Villagers staged a massive protest on Friday demanding the forest department take the necessary steps to capture the leopard.
The victim, identified as Kiruthika, was playing in front of her house in Xavier Mattam in Cherangode village when she was attacked by a leopard on Thursday evening. The family members and neighbours came to her rescue after hearing her loud wailing and they chased away the animal.
Kiruthika was taken to a nearby Primary Health Centre in Kolapalli and then to Pandalur Government Hospital for treatment. The prowling leopard is on an attacking spree as already three women were attacked within a fortnight.
The villagers earlier had blocked Pandalur-Sultan Bathery Road and Pandalur-Ayyankolli Road condemning the triple attacks. The recent incident triggered the villagers to hold a massive protest on Kolapalli Road against the forest department. Shops also remained shut in the Kolapalli and Factory Mattam.
Kommu Omkaram, the District Forest Officer (DFO) of Gudalur Forest Division, held talks with the villagers saying that two veterinarians from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) and Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) have joined the operation to translocate the leopard to some dense forest area. Following that the villagers ended their five-hour-long protest.
