From Our Correspondent
GUWAHATI: Stray leopards continue to create panic in Guwahati city. Another leopard on Friday came into confrontation with human population in the outskirt of the populous city resulting into injury to two persons.
The leopard was later tranquilised and caged by a team of veterinarian and wildlife personnel from Assam State Zoo here. This happened to be the fourth incident of its kind in the city in less than one month.
Forest officials informed that the leopard strayed into Lalunggaon in Lakhara area of Guwahati city from a nearby forest area.
The injured persons were identified as Mafij Ali and Aklima Bibi and admitted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
There have been frequent incidents of leopards straying into human habitat in Guwahati city basically due to shrinking of forest cover in and around the city which has at least 18 hills record.
Leopard is an endangered species and protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Guwahati has a number of wildlife species including several highly endangered ones in the forest areas in its outskirts and the hills within the city.
At least 20 leopards including several cubs have been killed in the city in the past two decades.
The 216-sq km Guwahati has nearly 26.42 sq km area marked as reserved forests, which have been vastly encroached upon. In addition to encroachment of hill areas within the city, there have been rampant illegal earth cutting and tree-felling in and around the city despite a number of laws to prevent these illegal activities. Wildlife biologist Firoz Ahmed informed that leopards come into contact with human population especially around this time as the animal comes out during the period in search of new habitat.