Man-eater leopardess captured in Uri

Uri, June 15: Wildlife Department on Saturday captured a man-eater leopardess in Zamboorpattan area of Uri in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

According to the wildlife officials, it is the same leopardess which mauled a 5-year-old boy to death in the village some ten days back and injured another woman recently.

“Our teams have been stationed there and were tracking the leopardess movement since June 5. We had installed cages at different spots of the area to catch her. Finally, she was captured today,” said Intisar Suhail, Wildlife Warden north Kashmir.

He confirmed that the captured leopardess is the same causing harm to the human lives and livestock in the area.

“Our three units were on the job in the village,” he said adding, “Leopardess will be medically examined and then taken to the rehabilitation center”.

Villagers heaved a sigh of relief after leopardess was captured.

“Leopardess has been causing damage to human lives and livestock especially to the residents of Cholan, Kalsan and Zamboorpattan. This has been going on for the last five years. Locals are happy now,” said Peer Noor Hussain Shah, Sarpanch of Zamboorpattan village.

He emphasised that cages should be installed in other areas of Uri as leopards are usually spotted in far off areas.

Locals of the Garkote’s Bilalabad area, Tillawari and Sukhdar villages claimed to have seen the movement of leopards in their areas and appealed to the authorities to install the cages.