BHOPAL: Till two years ago, they were the undisputed kings of Kuno’s forests. Today, they are seen as ‘fugitives’ with blood on their paws. Leopards displaced to accommodate Project Cheetah are said to be turning aggressive, with five attacks reported near the park’s edges in recent days.
Last Saturday, a 12-year-old boy was killed in a leopard attack, and on Tuesday, a woman was critically injured. Fear hangs heavy in villages surrounding Kuno. With cheetahs getting unfettered reign of Kuno, leopards — the original apex predators there — seem to be looking elsewhere for pride and prey. And villagers are paying the price.
Some of the leopards were radio-collared before being pushed out, but tracking details remain unclear. Are all attacks the work of a single, rogue leopard? Or are multiple animals now roaming human settlements in search of lost territory? The forest department isn’t saying much. But the people living around Kuno no longer sleep easily.
In Dhamini village, a leopard attacked a woman around 9pm on Tuesday, the fourth such incident in the region in recent weeks, sparking fear and anger among villagers.
The victim, Sunita Dhakad, had gone to the fields with her family to collect wheat straw when the leopard pounced on her. She was rescued after villagers banded together and charged the predator. The leopard ran away, but she lay dead.
Dhamini is in Vijaypur tehsil, a few kilometres from the boundaries of Kuno National Park. Forest officials arrived after receiving information about the attack and issued safety guidelines to villagers, asking them to avoid going to the fields after 6pm. They also asked villagers not to allow children to go out alone and to ensure proper lighting in fields and surrounding areas. Any leopard sighting is to be passed on immediately.
