5 Men Kill, Eat Leopard Cub; 110 Pounds Of Teeth, Skin, Nail Seized From Them

Indian forest officials have arrested at least five people in the southern state of Kerala on Friday for trapping, killing, and eating the meat of a 6-year-old leopard cub.

The incident took place in the Mankulam forest division in Idukki. The miscreants have been identified as Kollikolavil Vinod PK, 45, Basil Garden VP Kuriakose,74, Chempenpurayidathil CS Binu, 50, Malayil Sali Kunjappan, 54, and Vadakkumchalil Vincent, 50, according to local publication The News Minute.

Mankulam divisional forest officer PJ Suhaib said Vinod, the mastermind behind the gruesome killing, laid a trap within 100 meters distance from the forest to catch the leopard cub. He was concerned that the wild animal might stray into the locality and kill cattle and pets.

After the leopard fell into the trap, the five men brought it to Vinod’s house, where they killed the cub and distributed its meat among themselves. All of them cooked the meat and feasted on it, the outlet reported.

Officials acted on a tip-off and raided Vinod’s house, where they found over 22 pounds of uncooked meat, teeth, skin and nails of the leopard, weighing over 110 pounds. The accused were reportedly planning to sell the teeth, nails and skin of the cub.

Mankulam divisional forest officer PJ Suhaib told The News Minute that all the accused men have a history of poaching. Officials are probing whether they are involved in the animal trade.

"Mankulam range officer VB Udaya Suryan and his team arrested all accused within four hours after receiving the information. The officials recovered nearly 22 pounds of meat from the house of the prime accused," Suhaib told the publication.

"They hunted the leopard because they have a craze for hunting. They have a history of hunting pigs and eating their meat. But consuming leopard is a first."

"The animal had recently killed a goat owned by Vinod PK, one of the accused and he and his friends laid a snare using auto brake cable, net, and other materials. The animal was netted on Wednesday before it was killed by its captors and its meat distributed," Forest Ranger VB Udayasooryan told Hindusthan Times.

Officials said while poaching and killing of wild animals aren’t uncommon, this is the first-ever instance of miscreants consuming the meat of a wild leopard after killing it. Leopards are classified under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) and if convicted, the accused are likely to face a maximum punishment of seven years in jail.