TANAHUN, March 3: At least 14 children were killed, and 19 others injured in leopard attacks in the last five years in Tanahun district, according to the Division Forest Office.
The dead (10 boys and four girls) were in the age group of 1.5-11 years old, said Assistant Forest Officer Raj Kumar Shrestha. In the current fiscal year 2022/23, two children were killed and three others were injured in four leopard attacks, he said.
Leopard mauls 8-year-old boy to death in Tanahun
Similarly, 77 domestic animals (69 goats, six pigs, one cow, and a calf) were killed in the 42 cases of animal attack.
Four barking deer and one python were rescued, and three leopards and an Asian palm civet were found dead, said Komal Raj Kafle, chief of the Division Forest Office.
Due to human encroachment upon the habitats of wild animals, human-wildlife encounters have increased as wild animals often stray into human settlements in search of prey and water, said Kafle.
The forest office has taken some initiatives to minimize the loss of human life from wild animal attacks. Human losses from wild animal attacks have decreased to some extent after ponds were built for wild animals in each local body, he said.
