Pilibhit: A three-year-old girl who was mauled by a leopard in Bahraich district died at a govt hospital in Lucknow early Sunday, taking the toll in leopard attacks in the district to eight since April.
Lado was attacked in the courtyard of her house in Judwa village, around 1km from the Motipur range of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, at 7pm on Sept 6. He said leopard movement in villages near forests had increased, particularly due to the rising tiger population in the forest area. “Tigers do not allow leopards to live in the forest due to their innate tendency to prey on them.
Bahraich divisional forest officer S Sundaresh confirmed the death. Stay updated with the latest Bareilly news.
As leopards consider small children easy prey, they generally target them in most cases,” he said. “We will refer the case to the state forest administration for compensation of Rs 5 lakh and request that it be expedited,” Sundaresh said, adding that the department was regularly urging villagers to follow safety advisories to avoid conflicts with wildlife. She was initially taken to a community health centre in Nanpara and later shifted to the district hospital. As her condition deteriorated, she was referred to a higher medical facility in Lucknow, where she succumbed to her injuries. This compels leopards to live on the forest fringes and also enter villages in search of prey. The forest department has placed a cage with live bait to capture the leopard and installed camera traps around the attack site to monitor its movement. Download the TOI App.