KATHMANDU, Aug 2: Balagaun villagers in Chandragiri Municipality of Kathmandu on Monday killed a leopard that had entered the village from the adjoining forest in the evening.

According to DSP Dilli Raj Panta of Metropolitan Police Circle Office, Thankot, the locals killed the beast in self defense.

"After the locals saw the leopard in a corn field, they first tried to chase the beast away.

But it tried to attack the locals instead," DSP Panta said.

The villagers charged at the leopard with sharp batons and stones, leading to its death, he said, adding, "Four people were seriously injured in the process."

The body of the beast was handed over to District Forest Office, Kathmandu on Tuesday.

It was the 13th leopard spotted in a human settlement in Kathmandu since February 2015.

The authorities said leopards enter human habitats from the Shivapuri and Nagarjun National Park for different reasons.

The leopards stray into human settlements in search of easy prey, due to decline in the number of natural preys in the forest, deforestation and mainly due to human encroachment of their natural habitat.

The District Forest Office, Kathmandu has set up a wildlife rescue team equipped with necessary equipment to capture animals that stray into human settlements. But it was too late for the team to reach the spot for rescuing the leopard.

 
• leopard
 
• balagaun village
 
• metropolitan police circle
 
• tragic death