A leopard attack in the Mamla forests under the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) area today norming claimed yet another human life in the district, Forest Department officials said.
Forest Department's officials said that the incident has taken the human toll in wild animal attacks to 20, this year.
According to Forest Department sources, the victim Sanyasi Naitam (55) was killed in a leopard attack after he along with others went deep into Mamla forests in search of a missing bullock which belonged to another villager called Govindrao Mallarwar of Mamla village.
A group of four people including Naitam had gone into the jungle to search for missing cattle in the morning but failed to trace it.
Naitam, stayed behind to collect some firewood in the forest after asking the trio to proceed to their village.
Shortly after that, he was attacked by a leopard.
Hearing his screams, the trio rushed back to the site, only to find that the leopard had mauled him badly.
They rushed back to the village and returned with more men to the spot.
However, by then the leopard had already dragged his body into the nearby bamboo thickets.
On receiving information about the incident, the team of forest officials including Deputy Director (Buffer) Gajendra Narwane, Assistant Conservator of Forests Kanchan Pawar, ACF Rahul Sorte and Range Forest Officer Y B Yelmule rushed to the spot.
Meanwhile, Narwane said that the incident took place in compartment number 384 under Chandrapur (buffer) area of TATR. He said that eye witnesses who narrated the incident have confirmed that Naitam was killed in a leopard attack.
However, they failed to identify the beast or say whether it is the same one which was radiocollared by the department earlier in the area, he said.
It may be noted here that a radio collar was attached to a leopard after it became notorious for killing livestock (sheep and goats) in the area as well as for frequent intrusions in villages.
"We have installed additional three cages in the area to the one already in place since many days to capture the leopard. The Special Tiger Protection Force (STPS) squad would also be deployed in the area. People also have been warned against venturing deep into the forest," Narwane said.
