Leopard Drags 6-Year-Old Child Into Forest In Front Of His Parents, Mauls Kid To Death

In a case of human-wildlife conflict in India, a 6-year-old child was mauled to death by a leopard after dragging him into a forest area right in front of his parents.

The boy, identified as Abinash Ganda, was returning from a temple along with his family when the leopard attacked him. The incident took place Tuesday in a village in the central state of Chhattisgarh.

Ganda was walking with another child when the leopard suddenly emerged from the nearby forest and pounced upon him. It then dragged the boy away into a heavily wooded area, Orissa Post reported.

The child's family members immediately alerted the forest department. Forest officials began a search for the child and later found him lying on a rock in a critical condition. He was immediately taken to a local hospital but he could not be saved. He was declared dead at the hospital.

The officers could not spot the leopard that attacked the boy. The forest department gave a compensation of $465 to the victim's family.

Local residents said it was not the first such incident in the area. Three children were earlier killed in leopard attacks, Odisha TV reported. It was not known if the same animal was responsible for all the attacks. The forest department was trying to catch the leopard, but they failed, the residents complained.

Leopard-human conflicts have been increasing in the state and nearby areas. A leopard mauled and killed a 4-year-old girl in the neighboring state of Maharashtra just last week. The animal dragged her away while she was playing outside her house. Forest department officials and local residents searched for the girl and found her half-eaten body nearly 12 hours later on a farm. Authorities said the leopard mauled the girl before leaving her body there.