Leopard attacks minor girl in village near Koregaon Bhima

The girl survived but sustained head and neck injuries in the attack. She is now in a stable condition, said officials

A leopard attacked a five-year-old girl in Burke village near Koregaon Bhima at around 6 to 6.30 pm on Thursday. The girl survived but sustained head and neck injuries in the attack. She is now in a stable condition, according to a forest department official.

The forest department conducted thermal drone surveillance at night and camera traps were set up at the same time when the attack occurred, the official said. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Meanwhile, the department conducted thermal drone surveillance at night and camera traps were set up at the same time when the attack occurred, the official said.

On Thursday, Dattatray Chaure – who is from Osmanabad village, and works in Pune as a farm labourer – was working in a vegetable farm owned by Sagar Thombre along with his family, including his daughter, Poonam Chaure, 5. Suddenly, a leopard emerged from a sugarcane farm nearby and attacked Poonam as she stood alone in the vegetable farm.

Realising that the big cat had attacked the girl, the workers started shouting. Hearing the noise, the leopard dropped the girl and fled from the area. Poonam was immediately shifted to the hospital for treatment, said Ashutosh Shedage, assistant forest officer, Pune forest division.

Upon receiving information about the attack, two units of the primary response team were immediately despatched; one unit visited the Sassoon Hospital where Poonam had been admitted for treatment, while the other unit reached the spot where the leopard had attacked her.

“We collected samples, the primary investigation was conducted, and pugmarks were also found in the area. It was established that the attack was carried out by the leopard. The department with the help of RESQ Charitable Trust set up camera traps and also launched a thermal drone survey in the area at night,” Shedage said.

After learning that the girl’s condition was stable, a compensation cheque of ₹10,000 was handed over to her family as aid. On Friday, a team comprising members of the forest department and RESQ Charitable Trust held a programme in the village to make people aware of the situation and urge them to take necessary precautions while working in the fields or roaming around in the area at night.

Shedage said, “There is the existence of a leopard in the said area however till date, there has been no attack on a human being. This was the first-of-its-kind attack as leopards mostly attack animals like cats, dogs and cattle. The leopard seems to have misunderstood the girl for some other prey. The leopard is yet to be identified but we are checking the information with the help of camera traps.”