Stock image of leopard
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In the latest instance of confrontation between man and animal, three people were seriously injured by a leopard after locals flocked to see the animal in Tamil Nadu's Vellore city on Thursday afternoon. This incident has come to the fore less than two weeks after a stray leopard waltzed into the judicial magistrate court in Gujarat's Surendranagar district triggering panic among locals.

Going by eyewitness accounts, a farmer named Bharathi was the first person to be attacked by the majestic cat while he was working at his fields in Vellore earlier in the day. One Ammani Ammal also incurred injuries after he tried to rescue the farmer. Following the attacks, the word about a stray leopard roaming the fields spread like wildfire attracting locals who gathered at the spot to catch a glimpse of the big cat.


However, the leopard sprung towards the crowd of people gathered to see him injuring one person. Latest reports suggest that the three injured men have been rushed to a nearby hospital where they are being treated for their injuries. Meanwhile, the forest department has been notified about the attack and the leonine creature responsible for it.

A report released earlier this year asserted that 2018 saw the maximum number of leopard deaths in India since 2014. Data compiled by Delhi-based Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI) stated that out of the 460 leopards which died across the country this past year, 34 per cent were poached for trafficking while the remaining 74 per cent died due to train or road accidents.