Another death has occurred in Rajasthan’s Udaipur where an elderly person who was a temple priest was dragged to death and the neighbourhood believes it to be a leopard attack. The unfortunate incident happened in gogunda on Sunday morning according to official information. The 65 year old Vishnu Giri was resting outside the temple premises located in Rathodo ka gudha area when he was attacked. On Monday morning, the victim was found in a mutilated state approximately 150 m away from the temple. The man was dragged by a wild animal into a nearby forest where he lost his life.
Even though the locals have suggested that it is a leopard attack, the forest officials have not confirmed yet. Forest officials have started the investigation which is currently underway to identify the type of wild animal that attacked Giri. Meanwhile, let us tell you that this is a very alarming situation for Udaipur residents as 7 people have been killed, including Giri, between September 19 to 30. A 5 year old girl, a 60 year old man and a 16 year old girl are among the victims of the leopard attack, whose bodies were found deep inside the dense forests.
All the attacks have happened within a 5 km radius of the gogunda range and locals are in a panic. Activities such as farming and grazing of cattle is being held after making groups of 5 to 10 people and extra measures are being taken by the locals like previously they used to keep houses unlocked even at night but now the doors are firmly bolted. As a part of the solution, the forest department captured two leopards from the area on September 24, whereas two more were caught on Saturday and Sunday. Both the forest department officials and Indian Army personnel teamed up for the task.
The forest department has informed that there are 6 leopards in the gogunda area whereas, in the Udaipur forest area, there are over a hundred of them. The department has said that they are being helped by two shooters with tranquiliser guns, however have asked the villagers not to go into the jungle. Mahendra Singh, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Udaipur says:
“These bushes are very dense and the leopard is a clever animal. It walks without noise… We have asked the villagers to not go inside the jungles for grazing cattle. But we understand that their livelihood is dependent on it,”
Meanwhile, Sunil Mehta, president of the World Wilderness Congress (WCC) said
“Tourist places like Udaipur are expanding and encroaching on the wildlife area. Attacks on humans happen when the leopard gets inside the human settlement due to lack of space for movement and decline of prey base,”
Adding to which he said that the government should think about its policies of mindless development that is likely a cause of these attacks.