Thursday’s leopard attack on a little boy at the 7th mile point on the Tirumala ghat road once again brought the spotlight on the issue of man-animal conflict in the Seshachalam forest.
The predator was identified to be a sub-adult leopard learning the nuances of hunting. Forest officials have found that the little boy, belonging to a pilgrim party from Adoni of Kurnool district, had a miraculous escape.
According to eyewitness accounts, the boy’s parents found the leopard chasing a cat. Before they could alert the boy who was walking a few yards behind with his grandfather, the animal grabbed the boy by holding his neck between its jaws and ran for 120 metres into the forest. Vigilance officials and staff posted at the nearby microwave repeater station and fellow devotees rescued the boy by pelting stones on the leopard.
