Leopard Enters Government Rest House In Madhya Pradesh, Veterinarian, Two Others Injured

A leopard caused a wave of fear and hysteria among the residents of Amanganj and rest house employees after it was spotted inside the government property Thursday.

One source said veterinarian Sanjeev Gupta suffered minor injuries while trying to tranquilize the animal while the animal doctor was sitting on one of four elephants who were brought to control the leopard (Panthera pardus).

“It attacked the mammal resulting in the doctor falling down,” it added.

Contractual employee HarishankarTiwari and trader Brijlal were also injured by the leopard.

They were picking flowers at the rest house when they saw the big cat and attacked them, Hindust Times said. Both men suffered minor injuries due to the attack.

The attack happened around 7:30AM, said another source, and added a statement from the forest officials that the leopard was “hiding behind the bushes” when it pounced on Tiwari and Brijlal who had just entered the rest house to pick flowers.

After it was discovered, the leopard caused a wave of panic to the employees of the rest house, as well as residents of Amanganj. Employees locked themselves in rooms, while “a crowd gathered at the walls to catch a glimpse” of the animal.

A rescue team from the Panna Tiger Reserve was dispatched to the rest house after “someone called 100.” They, however, failed to locate the leopard despite tracking its pubmarks.

The leopard was finally seen running toward the national park later that evening.

“Since the leopard was seen running away from the rest house, we are trying to find out if it has returned to the national park or is moving around,” Panna National Park Director Ishwar Ramhari said.

Residents, on the other hand, were not that happy to see a predator roaming outside the protected area.

They said that the leopard was able to venture in the area because “forest employees are not carrying out routine patrols.”

On a separate sighting, a tiger was caught on video while it killed a cow beside the Satna-Panna highway.

Passersby crowded and recorded the sighting despite the tiger was just “two leaps away from the tiger.”

The tiger, “who looked irritated” by their presence, “pulled its prey deeper into the forest.”

Witnesses also said that there was another tiger that moved in “to scavenge the leftover carcass.”