Leopard mauls boy to death in Indian-controlled Kashmir

A 12- year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said Saturday.
The leopard attacked the boy near his house in a village of Damhal Hanjipora of Kulgam district, about 85 km south of Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir. "A boy Sabzar Ahmad Khatana was brutally injured by a leopard roaming in Gujar Basti - Bangiward last evening,"a police spokesman said. "The boy succumbed to his injuries on way to hospital."
Locals said the boy had ventured out of his house when the wild animal attacked him.
"We found the boy critically injured and tried to remove him to hospital but he died well before reaching there," said Zahoor Ahmad, a local.
The news about death of the boy and roaming of beast created panic in village. Locals alleged wildlife official of apathetic towards their problem.
Meanwhile, administration has ordered wildlife officials to trap the man-eater to avoid further human loss.
Reports said locals too have launched a manhunt to kill the leopard.
Wildlife officials said 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.
There are strict laws in force in the region against killing of wild animals.
Wildlife expert said 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.