Just three days after a leopard darted in northern part of Haridwar in Bhupatwala area, another incident of leopard attacking a farmer who was returning from his fields after watering them in the wee hours of the morning, has surfaced. The farmer saved his life by counter attacking the leopard with his baton.
When Pawan of Teliwala village was returning to his home at 6.30 am on Thursday, a leopard pounced on him from behind the bushes. His paw touched the hand of the farmer, Pawan. Acting on his wits, Pawan counterattacked him by the baton he was carrying and scared the big cat away. Following his shouts and screams the farmers working in the neighbouring fields also shouted and hearing sounds, the leopard turned away to the forest area.
The villagers searched for the leopard in the fields but could not trace him. The villagers have filed a complaint with the forest department. Speaking to the Pioneer, the village Pradhan Rakesh said, “The leopard is continuously preying on our pet animals and cattle. Many times we have appealed to the forest officials to put a trap for the wild animal but no one has paid attention.”
While the deputy ranger of Khanpur range forest division Dinesh Kukreti said, “We have sent a team of forest guards to the area and the patrolling has also been increased. The villagers have been appealed not to go their farms early morning and late night.”
With human settlements expanding and growing population pressure on the environment, the instances of leopard entering residential areas can be gauged from the fact that about six leopards are stated to have been rescued by the department from various residential areas of Haridwar forest division in the past one year.