Leopard captured in Maharashtra’s Talegaon; probe on to find if big cat killed boy

A leopard was caught and trapped in Maharashtra’s Talegaon, Igatpuri on January 2. The leopard's swab will now be collected and matched with the swab of a six-year old deceased child to match whether he was killed by the same animal a few days ago, said Ketan Birari, Range Forest Officer (RFO) Nashik. "The leopard is around 10 years old and male. Its swab will be sent to the lab of Wildlife Institute of India. The deceased child's family will be given Rs 20 lakh compensation," he said.  

A six-year-old child died after an alleged leopard attack in the region on December 24.

The RFO said, "We received info about a leopard in Talegaon, Igatpuri & our rescue team went there & trapped it. The leopard's swab will be collected & matched with the swab collected from the body of a 6-year-old died on 24th."   

Deolali camp area known for leopards

The state forest department successfully caged a leopard in the Deolali area in Nashik, forest department officials said on December 11, Sunday. Vivek Bhadane, Range Forest Officer (RFO) said, "Ten days ago, we received a complaint about a leopard being spotted in Deolali area of Nashik. We laid a trap on Saturday, and captured an adult male leopard."

Officials say the Deolali camp area has now become a hub of leopards of late. The existence of the big cats in the villages of Darna Kath well known.

Image: ANI