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Leopard that killed a 4-year old girl in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam, caught
The leopard dragged the four-year-old girl away when she was playing on the lawn of her house at Ompora village on June 3.
Jammu and Kashmir administration announced on Tuesday that the leopard responsible for killing a 4 year old girl, named Ada, in Budgam district on June 4 has been captured following a massive operation.
"Finally, the leopard involved in man-animal conflict is trapped by the joint team led by [the] wildlife department. Being rescued to safety. Though [the leopard’s] identity will be ascertained scientifically. Advisories may still be followed. Cats are still out there. Results of tinkering with their habitats," Budgam deputy commissioner Shabaz Mirza tweeted on Tuesday morning.
The leopard dragged the four-year-old girl away on June 3, when she was playing on the lawn of her house at Ompora village. Her mutilated body was recovered in the forest nursery about one kilometre from her house the next day.
According to official records, 196 people have been killed and 2,325 injured since 2011 in attacks by wild animals in Jammu and Kashmir. Kashmir has accounted for 118 deaths and 1,877 injuries, while 78 deaths and 448 injuries have been recorded in the Jammu region.
Forest officials said two leopards have recently been trapped but more than four are still roaming in the area, where the last incident took place. Local residents and politicians blamed the wildlife department saying it ignored their complaints about the increased citing of the animal in the area, leading to the incident.
“...Incidents involving the same wild animal occurred multiple times in the recent months in areas as close to [the] DC’s (District Collector) office. People then were lucky, but this time this innocent little soul had to pay with her life,” former minister and MLA Ruhullah Medhi said after the girl’s death
People in the district fear similar attacks and since the last few days, the wildlife department has received numerous calls claiming leopards were spotted in the area. The past many years have seen a rise in the incidents of man animal conflicts. Wildlife experts have attributed it to the shrinking of forest cover in Jammu and Kashmir.
