‘Man-eater’ leopard shot dead in Pune after killing three

A “man-eater” leopard that killed three people in Pune district was shot dead by forest department sharpshooters on Tuesday night after tranquilisation attempts failed. The killings had sparked widespread anger and protests in Shirur and adjoining areas.

Pune: A team of sharpshooters has killed a “man-eater” leopard in Maharashtra’s Pune district, forest officials said on Wednesday.

In the last one month, two minors and an elderly person were killed in leopard attacks in the Mauje Pimparkhed area of Shirur tehsil in the district.

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The incidents sparked massive public outrage across Junnar, Shirur, Ambegaon and Khed talukas, where leopard attacks have escalated sharply.

After the death of a 13-year-old boy in a leopard attack on Sunday, enraged locals set ablaze a forest department vehicle. The forest authorities on Monday ordered the capture and “elimination” of the animal.

“The man-eater leopard was spotted 400 to 500 metres from the attack site on Tuesday night. The team of sharpshooters fired a tranquilising dart, but it failed. As the leopard became aggressive and was approaching them to attack, the shooters opened fire at around 10.30 pm, killing the feline. The leopard was in the age group of 5 to 6 years,” an official from Junnar forest division said.

The carcass was shown to villagers in Pimparkhed and later shifted to the Manikdoh Rescue Centre for post-mortem, the official said.

On Tuesday, a male leopard was captured as it walked into a cage set up for the big cats.