Rampaging leopard mauls six in Indian village
A leopard attacks a forest guard at Prakash Nagar village near Salugara on the outskirts of Siliguri on July 19, 2011. Six people were mauled by the leopard after the feline strayed into the village area before it was caught by forestry department officials. Forest officials made several attempt to tranquilise the full grown leopard that was wandering through a part of the densely populated city when curious crowds startled the animal, a wildlife official said.
A rampaging leopard mauled at least six people in an Indian slum before forestry officials eventually shot it dead.
Hundreds of terrified villagers clambered onto rooftops as it stalked its way through the village in West Bengal, attacking people, critically injuring a ranger.
The villagers had tried to fight off the wild cat with batons and knives.
The leopard had strayed into a densely populated village near Siliguri in West Bengal's Darjeeling district from a nearby reserve, the Hindu Times says.
Forest officials tried to tranquilized the full grown leopard several times and eventually had to shoot it after it attacked several police officers and rangers.
Dramatic moments of the wild cat pouncing onto officers were caught on camera.
And just as forest officials thought the attack was over when the animal took refuge in a bush, it quickly re-emerged again and attacked three policemen, Sky News reports.
Kanchan Banerjee, a forest ranger from the Sukna Wildlife Range, told local newspaper The Hindu: "With the villagers trying to chase it, it tried to flee and injured five villagers in the process."
He said one forest guard was critically injured.
The leopard was eventually shot and tied up before being taken to a nearby veterinary clinic where it later died.
In January a feline went on an eight-hour rampage, racing through the streets and into people's homes and attacking at least six people in the 60,000-resident northern city of Karad.