GONDIA: A leopard strayed into the cattle shed of a villager in Maharashtra's Gondia district and killed some goats and hens there, triggering panic in the area, a forest official said on Sunday.
The incident took place on Saturday night in Sindhipaar village under Sadak Arjuni tehsil, and the feline was later caught and released into the wild, range forest officer Sunil Madavi said.
The carnivore had been moving near the village for past eight days and had killed some goats and hens earlier also. Hence, the forest department had increased patrolling in the area, he said.
Around 9.30 pm on Saturday, the leopard entered villager Suresh Kapgate's cattle shed. The big cat killed five goats and hens there belonging the villager, the official said.
After hearing some noise from the cattle shed, Kapgate went there and the leopard attacked him also. The villager suffered minor injuries, but managed to alert the forest staff.
Some forest personnel along with a Rapid Response Team from Navegaonbandh rushed to the spot. They managed to catch the animal in a net after about four hours, the official said.
The leopard was released in a forest area nearby in the wee hours of Sunday, he said.
Kapgate has demanded a compensation from the forest department for the losses he suffered in the leopard attack.
