Dahod: A 7-year-old girl has been mauled to death by a leopard near Sangasar village in Gujarat’s Dahod district, a forest official said on Tuesday.
This is the third such incident in the region in less than a month, he said.
The big cat dragged the victim away from outside her house in Dhanpur taluka on Monday evening, said Vasiya Dungri forest range officer Mahesh Parmar.
The half-eaten body of the girl was found deep inside the forest on Tuesday morning, he said.
On August 8, a child was similarly mauled to death by a leopard at Kantu village in the same taluka.
A shepherd was killed by a big cat near Khajuri village on July 26, he said.
Several incidents of leopards attacking humans in this region have been reported during July-August.
He said there are about two dozen leopards lurking in the forests.
Attacks by big cats are not uncommon in 12 villages in the area, Parmar said.
Several cages have been placed at various spots near human habitats to trap the big cats.
A leopard was caught on Monday night in the same locality, but it is not clear whether it was the same big cat that had attacked the seven-year-old girl.