A string of deadly leopard attacks in India's Uttar Pradesh state have rocked the villages near the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, gripping people in fear, especially after the half-eaten bodies of two children were recovered, a forest department official said on Wednesday.
On Monday evening, a nine-year-old boy, Ramtej, a resident of Rikha Pakdia Deewan Village in Motipur Forest Range, was attacked by a leopard while playing outside his house.
The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Akash Deep Badhawan, told Indian media that a joint team of police and forest department conducted an extensive search operation in the adjoining forest and recovered the half-eaten body of the boy in the bushes in Ghusri Village on Tuesday.
In a separate attack, four-year-old Aditya's trip to his maternal uncle's house in Maiglapurwa Village, also in Motipur Range, turned into a nightmare when he was dragged away by the leopard on Monday.
Leopards are the smallest of the big cats but they are incredibly strong, capable of climbing a tree with a large carcass in their mouths.
On Tuesday, the forest officers recovered only the head of the boy about two kilometres away from where the leopard had attacked him.
The Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) said that it isn't yet known whether the attacks were by the same leopard or two different leopards.
However, the wildlife experts feel, "It is unlikely that the same leopard would attack within a matter of hours."
The victims' families have been given a compensation of INR 10,000 ($133.9) each.