Leopard kills toddler in South Africa's Kruger park

Big cat that attacked two-year-old was hunted down and shot dead to avoid risk of a repeat

Agence France-Presse in Johannesburg

Thu 6 Jun 2019 17.52 BSTLast modified on Thu 6 Jun 2019 18.23 BST

A leopard has killed a two-year-old boy inside a fenced-off staff compound at South Africa’s Kruger national park, officials said.

“The toddler was only 30 months old,” the park said in a statement on Thursday. “The boy was certified dead by doctors at the Shongwe hospital after being rushed there by family members.”

The leopard attacked the boy on Wednesday evening after getting into the staff living quarters, which are separated from the rest of the park by an electrified fence.

A team of rangers hunted down the big cat and shot it dead to avoid the risk of a repeat, said the park, adding that it may have attacked as it was too accustomed to contact with humans.

“In parks like the KNP (Kruger national park) predators do interact with tourists and staff and at times it may result in species like leopard getting habituated to people and losing their fear,” the park said.

“The change in natural behaviour can then lead to unfortunate incidents such as this.”

The KNP said attacks were a danger faced by all staff and family members living and working in the park, but were very rare.

Read on

Runaway leopard returns to Indian park after escape

January 5, 2019

 Official estimates suggest there are between 12,000 and 14,000 leopards in India

A runaway leopard which escaped from an safari park in eastern India on New Year's Day has been recaptured after a massive search operation, an official said Saturday.

Wildlife authorities had deployed drones, trained elephants and set up traps with live bait to find the big cat after it escaped the park located in the foothills of the Himalayas, 557 kilometres (346 miles) north of Kolkata, capital of West Bengal.

The four-year-old beast nicknamed Sachin finally returned to its enclosure in the park late Friday, after a days' long hunt.

Nearly 100 foresters were pursuing the cat after its escape sparked panic in local villages.

"Sachin had been raised in captivity and could not hunt to feed itself," Vinod Kumar Yarad of the West Bengal Zoo Authority told AFP. "We kept a large chunk of meat inside the leopard's enclosure with its gate left open. On Friday night, it returned to its enclosure, injured and hungry," he said

Yarad said the cat was raised in captivity and lacked the ability to hunt in a wild, and had probably suffered injuries in an attempt to kill a wild boar or some other animal.

The animal is being treated for its injuries.

Read more at: 

Key leopard population 'crashing', study warns

April 19, 2017 by Marlowe Hood

The clash between humans and leopards, experts agree, is mostly due to humanity's expanding footprint, especially in Africa, whose population is set to expand by more than a billion before mid-century

The leopard population in a region of South Africa once thick with the big cats is crashing, and could be wiped out within a few years, scientists warned on Wednesday.

Illegal killing of leopards in the Soutpansberg Mountains has reduced their numbers by two-thirds in the last decade, the researchers reported in the Royal Society Open Science journal.

"If things don't change, we predict leopards will essentially disappear from the area by about 2020," lead author Samual Williams, a conservation biologist at Durham University in England, told AFP.

"This is especially alarming given that, in 2008, this area had one of the highest leopard densities in Africa."

The number of leopards in the wild worldwide is not known, but is diminishing elsewhere as well. The "best estimate" for all of South Africa, said Williams, is about 4,500.

What is certain, however, is that the regions these predators roam has shrunk drastically over the last two centuries.

The historic range of Panthera pardus, which includes more than half-a-dozen sub-species, covered large swathes of Africa and Asia, and extended well into the Arabian Peninsula.

Read more at:

Leopard enters Indian school and injures five people before capture

Big cat wanders into grounds of school in Bangalore before being shot with tranquilliser dart

Agence France-Presse in Bangalore

Monday 8 February 2016 13.02 GMT

Last modified on Monday 8 February 201622.01 GMT

Five people have been injured during an attempt to capture a leopard that wandered into a school in southern India, a wildlife official has said.

Photos of the incident in Bangalore show the animal prowling around the closed school and trying to maul forestry officials as well as a wildlife activist and others who came too close.

Ravi Ralph, chief wildlife officer in Karnataka state, said the leopard appeared to have entered the school from a nearby forest by jumping over the compound’s wall.

The animal is seen attacking a man lying on the ground who uses his hand to defend himself. The cat is also shown sinking its claws into another man’s leg as he tries to climb a gate.

“The leopard was caught and caged after a four-hour operation, when it was trapped in a room with one tranquilliser shot through a wire-meshed ventilator,” Ralph said.

Watch video and read on ...

Singer Shania Twain becomes a Leopard Ambassador

Singer Shania Twain has helped wild cat conservation organisation Panthera launch #IFAKEIT – a social media campaign to raise awareness of the need to save one of fashion’s most revered but underrepresented icons – the leopard. 

Shania Twain demonstrates how you can

 look good in leopard without harming

 any big cats

“I was shocked to learn that these gorgeous animals are being killed for their beautiful skins and other parts for the illegal trade, and yet are so loved by the fashion world," says Shania, who has been given the title of Leopard Ambassador. 

Referred to as the ‘new neutral', the big cat’s spotted print has inspired fashion for centuries, influencing style all over the world.

The purpose of this campaign is to inform the general public that while the spots they are wearing are so widespread, the real leopard is under serious threat. 

Continued ...

Leopard caught on camera as it roams residential area

A Leopard is filmed roaming residential streets in the central Indian city of Indore

2:37PM GMT 20 Dec 2014

The Wildlife Institute of India has recently confirmed that this supposed wild cat, was caught on camera wandering a residential area in Indore.

The big cat was caught on camera by people driving passed it in the central Indian city of Indore.

Although the animal has not yet been captured, no related injuries have been reported since it was spotted in the area.

Continued ...

Indian woman kills leopard that attacked her

By Shiv Prassad JoshiDehradun

Kamla Devi spoke to the media from hospital, where she is stable

An Indian woman armed only with farm tools is stable in hospital after killing a leopard that attacked her.

Kamla Devi, 56, sustained multiple bites, cuts and fractures during the half-hour battle.

She had been fetching water in northern Uttarakhand state when the leopard pounced on her from nearby bushes - she fought back with a sickle and spade.

"I thought I was dead but I did not lose patience and courage," she told reporters after her lucky escape.

Smashed teeth

Ms Devi was carrying water from a canal to her field near the village of Sem Nauti in Rudraprayag district when she was attacked on Sunday.

She said she managed to smash some of the animal's teeth during the struggle.

"I fought head on with it for almost half an hour. Then I came to know it was dead," she told reporters from hospital in the nearby town of Srinagar Garhwal.

read more ...

India: Leopard Kills Girl, Body Recovered in Nearby Wildlife Sanctuary

By Divya Avasthy | IB Times – Mon, Apr 21, 2014

An eight-year-old girl has been mauled to death by a leopard at her house on the outskirts of a wildlife sanctuary in northern India, the Press Trust of India reported.

The girl was sleeping in the courtyard of her house when the animal attacked her. The leopard dragged her into a forest, where her body was found.

The incident happened in Katarniaghat sanctuary in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Such animal attacks are common in villages and tribal belts in and around wildlife sanctuaries acrossIndia.

A few days ago, a farmer in the western state of Maharashtra was attacked by a leopard, but he escaped with injuries to his head.

What saved the man was the leopard's involvement in a fight with a pack of dogs.

As the leopard leaped on the man, the dogs attacked the animal and it turned its attention back to the dogs.

Continued

Leopard Prowls Indian Hospital for 12 Hours

By Tia Ghose, Staff Writer | February 25, 2014 10:03am ET

A leopard terrorized patients at a city hospital in India for 12 hours, wounding a police officer before crashing through a window to escape.

The leopard was first spotted in a timber warehouse on Sunday in Meerut, Utter Pradesh, a city of about 3.5 million people. After being teased by a gathering crowd on Monday, the leopard hopped into the Meerut Cantonment Hospital. Despite the efforts of wildlife officials to tranquilize the cat, it eventually escaped and is still on the loose. Officials declared Monday a school holiday for children as a result.

India has about 8,000 leopards, and as urban sprawl creeps into forested areas, the wild cat has come into increasing conflict with humans, Shekhar Kumar Niraj, who heads the India chapter of TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network run by the World Wildlife Fund, told the Wall Street Journal. Last year a leopard killed a 9-year-old boy in the megalopolis of Mumbai.

http://www.livescience.com/43621-leopard-prowls-indian-hospital.html

Leopard shot, killed in Clark County

WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) – Two Indiana residents got the surprise of their lives Thursday night when the "bobcat" they shot turned out to be something quite different.

Indiana wildlife officials say it was a leopard.

On Friday morning, WDRB News was contacted by Donna Duke, a Kentuckiana resident who claimed to have photographs of a leopard that was shot at a home on State Road 3, just outside of Charlestown in Clark County, Ind.

Duke spoke with WDRB News by phone. She says her friend -- who wishes to remain anonymous and did not want to speak with the media -- lives in that area, which had seen a number of attacks against dogs and cats recently. Duke's friend has a number of cats, and was worried about their safety.

"She's got cats that are basically her family," Duke said. Duke says her friend contacted a local wildlife official, who initially thought the attacks might have been committed by a bobcat. He told her to keep a sharp eye out for bobcats at night.

Duke says her friend told her that she and her boyfriend took turns watching the area from the roof every night.

"She was trying to protect her babies," Duke said.

Sometime late Thursday night or early Friday morning, Duke says her friend was outside near her pool, when she saw a dark shadow pacing back and forth nearby. That's when, Duke says, her friend's boyfriend grabbed a gun and shot it.

continued

Spotted: 1st Evidence of a Leopard Eating a Chimp

Douglas Main, Staff Writer

Date: 24 May 2013 Time: 03:11 PM ET

Only rarely have people seen what happens when chimpanzees and leopards come into close quarters in the wilds of Africa. On these occasions, chimpanzees have made loud, fearful calls, or played the aggressor: In one case, chimps even surrounded a leopard den and killed a cub.

But the big-brained primates don't always win: For the first time, scientists have found evidence of a leopard eating a chimpanzee.

In Tanzania's Mahale Mountains National Park, researchers spent 41 days collecting African leopard scat from June to August 2012 (summer internship, anyone?). In one of the cat's "offerings," scientists found several chimpanzee patella and phalanges, corresponding to kneecaps and toe bones, respectively. DNA analysis showed that the bones came from an adult female chimp.

The researchers can't be entirely certain that the leopard hunted down the chimp, because the cats occasionally eat dead animals; in other words, it's possible the chimp keeled over and then became leopard chow. However, the finding has led scientists to re-examine three mysterious wounds incurred by three different chimps in Mahale over the last few years. The wounds were deeper than thought to be possible from fights with other chimps, which is what scientists previously thought had happened.

A 2009 study suggested that chimpanzees face only negligible pressure from predators. If it's indeed true that the leopard ate a live chimp, scientists may need to rethink this view and further examine how predation from leopards, or other animals, might have driven thechimpanzee's evolution, the researchers said. One study from 1993 found evidence of lions eating four chimpanzees, also in Mahale Mountains National Park. The park is one of the few places with ongoing research where the range of leopards and chimpanzees overlap, which helps explain why this was witnessed there.

The new research was published online May 21 in the Journal of Human Evolution.

http://www.livescience.com/34681-spotted-1st-evidence-of-a-leopard-eating-chimp.html

Leopard rescued after falling down well – video

A three-year-old leopard is hoisted from a well by forest wardens in Gujarat state, India. The animal was placed onto a wooden frame to be lifted back out from the water but a struggle meant it had to be tranquilised. More leopards in India are being found in human areas as their natural habitats dwindle in size

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/apr/07/leopard-rescued-falling-well-video

Old leopard still roaming Iran

Leopard was first seen in 2004

February 2013. Recent camera trapping in central Iran indicates that an old Persian leopard roams in Bafq Protected Area; the cat is estimated to be at least 12 to 14 years. This adult male was first recorded by camera traps in late 2004, and he was a prime individual at that time. Later, he was photo-trapped regularly and he was the main star in occasional encounters with game wardens and visitors, based on spot patterns comparison. In 2007, he was equipped with GPS collar for six months by CACP, WCS and Panthera, which revealed that he covered most of this 850 square kilometre reserve.
 

In 2012, the animal was still a dominant male who ranged across most of the reserve, indicating that he is the oldest ever identified Persian leopard in the wild. Large cats normally live no longer than 10 years in the wild, despite their significantly longer lifespan in captivity (sometimes up-to 25 years). Bafq Protected Area which is one of the main hotspots for the Persian leopard in central Iran, is threatened by a proposed road which is planned to pass through the heart of the area.

Read more about the work of The Iranian Cheetah Society (ICS) 

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/bafq-leopard-photos.html

A bird in the hand ... is a pretty good effort for a leopard

THESE are the amazing pictures of a hungry leopard caught carefully selecting its dinner from a flock of unsuspecting birds - before snatching it from the air and tucking in.

The big cat was caught on camera slyly patrolling through grassland ready to pounce on the Sandgrouse birds making their early morning appearance at a well-stocked watering hole.

Photographer Matt Prophet, 37, snapped the rare encounter at Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, an exclusive animal hideaway which crosses the borders between Botswana and South Africa.

The young leopard can be seen leaping through the air under the African sun to catch one of the Namaqua or Burchell breeds of the Sandgrouse birds.

Balancing on its two back legs, the incredible predator opens wide and snatches an unsuspecting bird from out of the sky before wasting no time in devouring the creature.

These solo hunting skills are a trait picked up from the cat’s mother who is also a specialist Sandgrouse hunter.

Read more and see pictures: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/4532861/A-bird-in-the-hand-is-a-pretty-good-effort-for-a-leopard.html#ixzz26DYcJY8L

Leopard in Dramatic Photo Traced to 2004 Camera Trap

ScienceDaily (July 19, 2012) — A dramatic photo of a male leopard dragging a massive gaur (or Indian bison) calf in Karnataka's Bandipur Tiger Reserve turned out to be the same animal photographed by a WCS camera trap nearly eight years ago.

The photo, taken by Indian photographer Vinay S. Kumar, was initially submitted to Conservation India, a not-for-profit portal to enable conservation action. Intrigued by the picture, CI's editors sent it to researchers at Wildlife Conservation Society's India Program who have been running a tiger-monitoring program for over two decades -- the longest in the world. Their huge database of camera trap pictures also includes hundreds of pictures of leopards.

The male was quickly identified, thanks to special computer software that can compare rosette patterns, as Bandipur Leopard #123 or BPL-123, which was first camera-trapped on December 2, 2004, according to Dr. N. Samba Kumar, Joint Director -- Conservation Science, WCS -- India.

Picture:   http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120719110938.htm

Young leopard dies in snare in Iran

Snare traps threat leopards in northern Iran
May 2012. Snare traps have been threatening the wildlife of northern Iran, particularly the Persian leopard, for many years. They are mainly deployed to control wild boar which can be detrimental to rice farmlands. So the farmers try to control the high level of conflict with wild boars by setting snares around their farms; the farmers are dependent on their rice crops. However, since the traps are non-selective, other animals are also vulnerable to the snares.

Young female leopard killed
Recently, a young female leopard was killed in a snare around Mousha village in Dorfak Protected Area, northern Iran. The trap was intended to trap the abundant boars that invade the rice farmlands at night. There was a rumour that the leopard's mate is patrolling around, which concerned many local people.

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/leopard-iran.html

Villagers kill leopard in Kurnool

KURNOOL: A fully grown leopard, which created terror in Dhone mandal, was finally trapped by the villagers of Chanugondla on Friday. The leopard succumbed to injuries later in the custody of forest authorities.

Villagers complained that the big cat has been on the prowl since a month but the forest officials did not bother to catch it. The wild animal used to attack cowherds and take away sheep and goat in the night. On Friday morning, the leopard came again to kill sheep when stray dogs saw the wild cat and started barking. The leopard tried to hide itself on a tree but villagers carrying sticks and stones attacked it. The exhausted animal was later trapped by tying it with ropes.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-25/hyderabad/31100437_1_wild-cat-leopard-forest-officials

First leopard spotted on newly created wildlife reserve in South Africa

UmPhafa records first leopard August 2011. As Colchester Zoo's charity, Action for the Wild, continues work to develop the UmPhafa Private Nature Reserve in South Africa, a leopard has finally been spotted on the reserve after many signs had been recorded indicating that they had been present in the area.

In December, staff at UmPhafa recorded conclusive evidence of a leopard whilst a security guard was out on patrol. Our project coordinator, Liam Westall headed out to investigate and confirmed that the tracks were undoubtedly those of a leopard, with a hair caught on the fence line caught by the leopard passing through a gap also confirming the sighting.

Camera trapsSince the signs have been recorded on the reserve the UmPhafa staff set camera traps on UmPhafa and the neighbouring farms hoping to catch a glimpse of the leopard, as tracks and signs became even more frequent. The staff sourced some bait to attract the leopard and left scent trails leading it through a path where the camera was set up. After lots of hard work trying to capture a photo of the elusive leopard on UmPhafa, staff managed to get a wonderful photo of a leopard on one of UmPhafa's farms; Geluk.

Leopards
Leopards can grow to between 1.6 and 2.1 metres long, with males growing considerably larger than females. This elegant and beautifully marked cat has a wide distribution in sub-Saharan Africa and has a wide habitat tolerance. As they are mainly active at night, it has taken the staff on UmPhafa a long time to record a photo. As they have huge home territories depending on food availability, it is likely that they cross out of the UmPhafa Reserve in order to search for prey. With the increase in natural prey numbers, it is hoped that the leopard will be encouraged to spend more time within the reserve.

In previous years the leopard has become increasingly rare, but with more lands set aside for wildlife, signs and sightings are now becoming more and more common. The hills and vales of UmPhafa provide an ideal habitat for this species and the appearance of the leopard is a clear indication of the extent of change the land has undergone. There is potential for UmPhafa staff to study this further, and create a clearer picture of the population density in the area, as well as an indication as to how well targets are being achieved regarding rehabilitating the habitat of UmPhafa.

For more information on the UmPhafa Reserve, please visit the website at www.umphafa.com.
http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/Umphafa-leopard.html

Leopard wounds 11 people in village

A leopard that mauled 11 people in a fierce showdown with Indian villagers has died of knife wounds after being captured.

The adult male leopard leapt at locals and forest officials as they tried to drive it into a wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal state.

Forest official Dharma Dev Rai says villagers used knives, stones and batons to beat back the cat.

It injured six villagers, a policeman and four forest guards before being hit with a tranquilliser gun.

The people are recovering from their injuries, mostly swipes from the cat's claws.

Leopards are protected in India though more are straying into villages for food.

http://news.uk.msn.com/world/leopard-wounds-11-people-in-village?ocid=today

Bethersden big cat 'ran out in front of me'

by James Scott

A black panther has been 'seen' roaming the roads in Kent.

The beast was spotted by an unnamed driver who claimed he saw it in Brissenden Green, Bethersden.

He was travelling towards the A28 when the animal ran across the road.

It happened at 6.45pm on Saturday, March 19.

He reported the sighting to Neil Arnold of the Kent Big Cat Research group, which collects data about sightings of exotic animals in the county.

The man said: “A large black panther style cat with a long tail, ran across the road, very fast, in front of my car.

"It actually brought me to a standstill, I think more through sheer amazement at what I had just witnessed.”

“I have heard that a similar cat has been spotted before in the Bethersden and Woodchurch area.

"I’m so pleased that I have finally seen one for myself.”

Wednesday, March 23 2011

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011/march/23/big_cat_ran_out_in_front_of_m.aspx