IDUKKI: A leopard, which strayed into a village, was hacked to death by a tribal man after the animal attacked him at Mankulam in the Idukki district on Saturday morning.
Gopalan, 45, of Chikkanamkudi tribal colony hacked the big cat as it pounced on him and bit his hand when he was going to the farmland for work at 7 am.
Gopalan, who sustained injuries on his hands and legs, was admitted to the taluk hospital. Mankulam range forest authorities said Gopalan hacked the leopard to save his life as the animal had attacked him.
"The leopard has been roaming around the village for the past three weeks and has killed goats and chicken and we had complained to the forest authorities. On Saturday, Gopalan went to the farmland for work at around 7 am along with his brother's son Somarajan. When they reached the farmland, the leopard, which was hiding behind a cocoa tree, pounced on him. The leopard bit him on his hands and he fell on the ground while trying to escape from the grip of the animal. Somehow, he got hold of the machete and he hacked the leopard on its neck. The injured leopard collapsed and died after some time," said Chikkanamkudi BSS president Velappan, a relative of Gopalan.
The forest department had placed a trap in the area and was waiting for the leopard on Friday night.
Meanwhile, the leopard entered the premises of Kottayi Binoy at 6th Mile, which was one kilometre away from Gopalan's house, at 6 am on Saturday.
Binoy had placed a trap using nets around his poultry house. Though the leopard was trapped in the net when it tried to enter the cage, it ripped off the net and escaped. The leopard had killed five birds. The residents rushed to the spot hearing the leopard's growls, but it escaped.
"The leopard had been frequenting the village for the past few weeks and we had placed a cage to trap it. We kept guard at Chikknamkudi till 5.30 in the morning but the leopard did not come. It had killed the goats and poultry of many farmers in the area," said Dileep Khan, forester at Mankulam range office.
The incident occurred at settlement number 33 under the Kallar section forest office. The leopard suffered three cut injuries on the left side of its neck, right side of the head and right front leg. The leopard was aged and had lost a tooth. The carcass will be buried after a postmortem examination by the forest department veterinary surgeon