Forest officials capture leopard in Nuapada

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Forest department officials captured a leopard, which has killed two persons and injured another within a week in Nuapada district.

The ‘man-eater’ male leopard was captured on Saturday night from Dharambandha area on the outskirts of Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary in Nuapada district, Regional Chief Conservator of Forests (RCCF), Bhawanipatna, Ashwini Kumar Kar said.

The leopard was captured in a cage when it entered a house in Kodapali village after injuring a minor boy, said a forest official. The leopard will be around 7 to 8 years old. The animal is fit as it was captured without tranquillising. The leopard is under observation and it is likely to be translocated to some other forest area or Nandankanan zoo.

The leopard had allegedly killed a woman and a minor boy and injured another minor in the sanctuary and its outskirts in the last seven days. The deceased were Ramesri Bai Majhi (45) and Dambarudhar Dharua (7).

The leopard attacked the woman and dragged her into the forest on Friday evening when she had gone to a nearby field. On October 30, the minor boy was mauled to death by the leopard when he was playing at his village inside Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary. The animal had also allegedly attacked another minor in the Dharambandha area on Saturday afternoon. The minor boy sustained injury in the attack.

The forest officials said the government has initiated steps to pay compensation of Rs 6 lakh to family members of each of the deceased.

Meanwhile, the locals of Kodapali village sighted another leopard in the nearby area and informed the forest official.