Villager killed by leopard while tending to his sheep in Tumakuru

This is the second fatal attack since October; villagers stage protest

A 60-year-old villager was killed by a leopard at Doddamaralavadi in Kunigal taluk of Tumakuru district on Friday, sparking panic among villagers.

The victim, Anandaiah, was grazing his sheep along with other shepherds and farmers, when the leopard attacked him around 2 p.m. Some of the villagers who witnessed the attack pelted the animal with stones in an attempt to rescue their friend.

“The leopard fled the spot, leaving Anandaiah badly wounded,” said villagers. He was immediately shifted to Kunigal taluk government hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

Protest by relatives, villagers

The villagers and relatives of Anandaiah staged a protest led by Kunigal MLA Ranganath by keeping the body on the Tumakuru-Kunigal road demanding compensation to the family and capture of the leopard.

For nearly three hours, the road was blocked leading to a long traffic pileup, with hundreds of vehicles stranded. After the forest department officials gave an assurance that compensation would be paid immediately and efforts would be made to capture the leopard, the protest was withdrawn.

A team headed by veterinary doctor, Murali from Hassan will arrive at Doddamaralavadi village to tranquilize and capture the leopard which has been attacking the humans.

Read also: Almost half of Karnataka ‘lives’ with leopards

2nd incident in two months

Villagers fear that it is the same leopard that killed a 58-year-old woman, Lakshmamma. Her body was found in a bush near Bannikuppe in Tumakuru taluk on October 17. “The same leopard attacked Anandaiah as Doddamaralavadi and Bannikuppe are neighbouring villages,” claimed villagers.

After Lakshmamma’s body was found, forest department personnel kept two cages in the hope of capturing the leopard, but so far it has eluded all traps. “We are tracking down this leopard but have yet to establish whether it was the same one that killed Lakshmamma,” said forest officials.