Leopards maul boy to death in Indian-controlled Kashmir

A 10- year-old boy was mauled to death by two leopards in Indian- controlled Kashmir, officials said Wednesday. The leopards attacked the boy inside an apple orchard Tuesday night in village Kralcheck-Kreeri in Baramulla district, around 48 km northwest of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian- controlled Kashmir. \"A boy Tariq Ahmad Sheikh was killed after two leopards attacked him at Kreeri last night,\" said a police spokesman. \"The boy had ventured out of his house during the evening time.\" The mutilated body of the boy was found in the orchard. The news about death of the boy and roaming of beasts created panic in village. Villagers and wildlife officials have launched a manhunt to trap the man-eaters. Wildlife officials say leopards and bears stray into residential areas usually in search of food. However, according to them, the human presence makes these animals insecure, following which they resort to attacking people. At times these creatures are attacked by scared villagers in retaliation which also proves fatal for them. In wake of rising man-animal conflict, wildlife officials last month have set up control rooms at vulnerable places to contain such animal attacks. There are strict laws in force in the region against the killing of wild animals. Wildlife expert say mass urbanization, denudation of forests, encroachment of forestland, vanishing of buffer zones in the forests and extraction of medicinal plants are some of the reasons responsible for increasing conflict between humans and animals. Last year several people were killed in the man-animal conflict in the region.