Mrudul Godbole
03-08-2010, 12:41 PM
Leopard attacks girl on Tirumala road
Tirupati: A girl was attacked by a leopard on the Alipiri footpath in the wee hours of Sunday, ringing alarm bells among the pilgrims thronging the Tirumala hill shrine. This is the second leopard attack at the Tirumala ghat road in less than a week.
The wild cat took eight-year-old Kalyani by surprise by grabbing her neck and attacking her with its paw at the seventh mile road — the same spot where it had attacked three-year-old Kokila on the night of July 27. While the teeth marks were visible on the nape of her neck, claw marks were found on her back and shoulders.
The leopard fled the area when Kalyani’s family members and other pilgrims raised an alarm. The girl was rushed to Ruia Hospital in Tirupati where she is out of danger. However, doctors have kept her under observation for 24 hours. Serious doubts have cropped up as to whether the beast has turned into a maneater.
Recalling the early morning horror, girl’s uncle Lakshminarayana said: “It was a fully grown animal and looked menacing. I screamed my heart out to scare the wild beast. Thank god, Kalyani is alive now.” Kalyani along with her parents and uncle from Anantapur were trekking the hill for darshan of the Lord when the incident happened.
The girl hails from Penchalapadu village in Guntakal mandal. “We began walking up the hill around 9 pm on Saturday and reached the seventh mile near the deer park around 1.30 am when the leopard attacked my girl,” father Govindappa, a farmer, said.
Mother Geethamma said they were relaxing for a moment and buying some eatables when the wild cat struck. “Other pilgrims also shouted and the beast left my girl and disappeared into the woods,” she said.
As soon as the news spread, TTD executive officer I Y R Krishna Rao along with officials rushed to the hospital around 2.15 am and consoled the parents of the girl.
Curiously, the forest officials dismissed the fears that the wild cats have turned maneaters. Senior forest conservator Mallikarjuna Rao said the leopard might have mistaken the girl for its prey (since the deer park is located close by) and attacked her. He said they have tracked the pugmarks of the beast along the seventh mile road and laid a trap to catch it.
Link - http://www.theindiadaily.com/leopard-attacks-girl-on-tirumala-road/
Tirupati: A girl was attacked by a leopard on the Alipiri footpath in the wee hours of Sunday, ringing alarm bells among the pilgrims thronging the Tirumala hill shrine. This is the second leopard attack at the Tirumala ghat road in less than a week.
The wild cat took eight-year-old Kalyani by surprise by grabbing her neck and attacking her with its paw at the seventh mile road — the same spot where it had attacked three-year-old Kokila on the night of July 27. While the teeth marks were visible on the nape of her neck, claw marks were found on her back and shoulders.
The leopard fled the area when Kalyani’s family members and other pilgrims raised an alarm. The girl was rushed to Ruia Hospital in Tirupati where she is out of danger. However, doctors have kept her under observation for 24 hours. Serious doubts have cropped up as to whether the beast has turned into a maneater.
Recalling the early morning horror, girl’s uncle Lakshminarayana said: “It was a fully grown animal and looked menacing. I screamed my heart out to scare the wild beast. Thank god, Kalyani is alive now.” Kalyani along with her parents and uncle from Anantapur were trekking the hill for darshan of the Lord when the incident happened.
The girl hails from Penchalapadu village in Guntakal mandal. “We began walking up the hill around 9 pm on Saturday and reached the seventh mile near the deer park around 1.30 am when the leopard attacked my girl,” father Govindappa, a farmer, said.
Mother Geethamma said they were relaxing for a moment and buying some eatables when the wild cat struck. “Other pilgrims also shouted and the beast left my girl and disappeared into the woods,” she said.
As soon as the news spread, TTD executive officer I Y R Krishna Rao along with officials rushed to the hospital around 2.15 am and consoled the parents of the girl.
Curiously, the forest officials dismissed the fears that the wild cats have turned maneaters. Senior forest conservator Mallikarjuna Rao said the leopard might have mistaken the girl for its prey (since the deer park is located close by) and attacked her. He said they have tracked the pugmarks of the beast along the seventh mile road and laid a trap to catch it.
Link - http://www.theindiadaily.com/leopard-attacks-girl-on-tirumala-road/