An Indian monk has died after being attacked by a leopard while meditating under a tree in a protected forest for the big cats.
Rahul Walke, a 35-year-old Buddhist monk attached to a temple in the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra state, “had walked some distance away from the facility so that he could meditate”, reports the BBC.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Four other fatal attacks have occurred in recent weeks” in the the reserve, just over 500 miles west of Mumbai, says the Daily Mail.
Police said that monks have ignored warnings from local officials not to venture too far into the forest.
A monk belonging to Walke’s temple told the BBC that he had witnessed the big-cat attack while taking food to the meditation spot on Wednesday morning.
The witness said he had run to get help but that by the time he returned with other monks, Walke was dead.
“His badly mauled body was found further into the forest, indicating the animal tried to drag it along,” Krisna Tiwari, a senior police officer in the region, told Paris-based news agency AFP.
Forest official G.P. Narawane said efforts were being made to capture the killer leopard. “We have set up two cages and a camera trap, and we will try to tranquilise the animal,” he said.
The temple also plans to install solar-powered electric fencing around the complex to ward off predators, The Times of India reports.
Official estimates suggest there are between 12,000 and 14,000 leopards in India. Urban expansion “has reduced their numbers as forest habitats shrink, bringing them into closer contact - and conflict - with humans”, says AFP.
According to Indian government figures, an estimated 431 leopards were killed in 2017. Most were slaughtered by poachers for their hides and body parts.
-
'Axis of upheaval': will China summit cement new world order?Today's Big Question Xi calls on anti-US alliance to cooperate in new China-led global system – but fault lines remain
-
A private zoo run by Asia's richest family is facing criticism and investigationsUnder the radar The zoo is owned by Anant Ambani, the son of Asia's richest person
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
Delhi's dogs earn Supreme Court reprieveIN THE SPOTLIGHT After an outcry from the public and animal rights activists, India's Supreme Court walks back a controversial plan to round the city's stray dog population into shelters
-
India's fake weddingsUnder The Radar New party trend promises all the fun of a wedding without any of the downsides
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
China looms large over India and Pakistan's latest violenceIN THE SPOTLIGHT Beijing may not have had troops on the ground, but as South Asia's two nuclear powers bared their teeth over Kashmir, China eyed an opportunity
