This story is from December 24, 2020

Which leopard is man-eater?

Which leopard is man-eater?
One of the two big cats had attacked six persons including two children in Ghoghamba taluka in Panchmahal district
Vadodara: The forest department that was concerned till Tuesday evening as it was not able to trap a leopard attacking humans, was in for a surprise when two leopards landed in its cages by late in the night on the same day. It is now trying to identify which of the two leopards has the tendency to attack humans.
Panic had gripped villagers in Ghoghamba taluka of Panchmahal district as a big cat had attacked six persons including two children who had died.
It had even preyed on goats kept as bait in cages to trap it.
A team of officials of the Vadodara circle of the forest department rushed to the Ghoghamba taluka on Tuesday in wake of the series of attacks on humans and domesticated animals reported there.
Late on Tuesday evening, the leopard was trapped in one of the cages. An official said that the goat it had killed on the previous night was brought to the cage and kept in it. The leopard came to take its prey and was trapped. The official said that the big cat was prima facie the one that was involved in the attacks.
But late in the night, another leopard was trapped in one of the cages set up by the forest department. While the first leopard was trapped at Goyasundal village, the second one was trapped near Kantaveda. One of the boys that was killed was from Goyasundal while another was from Kantaveda.
The forest department officials are also caught in a quandary regarding the issue. “We are trying to confirm which leopard was involved in the attacks on humans. There are chances that one of them might be innocent and landed in a trap. Evidence like their pugmarks, movement in the area and other details will be matched to ascertain this,” said the official.

The series of attacks by the leopard on humans or domesticated animals began on December 5 when a boy was attacked in the Palla village. Following this, two children were killed within hours at the Kantaveda and Goyakundal villages in the Ghoghamba taluka on December 8. The forest department swung into action and placed cages to rescue the leopard.
But on December 10, the leopard managed to kill the goat kept as a bait in the cage and was still not trapped.
After this, it attacked a calf on December 15 and two men on December 18. It again managed to kill a goat in a trap on Monday and leave safely.
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