Tamil Nadu: Another heartbreaking incident has come to light from the Annamalai hill zone of the Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. Five-year-old Saiful, living in Valparai, was playing outside the house. At that moment no one had thought that a leopard was hiding in the nearby tea garden. Suddenly the leopard came out of the bushes and took him yonder in the twinkle of an eye. Before the family could understand anything, he took the child away.
What did the family do, and where was the child found?
There was a stir in the house without the incident. The family members immediately informed the police and forest department. The search operation went on the whole night. Without several hours of searching, Saiful's soul was found inside the garden. There were deep marks of a leopard wade on his body. Seeing this, everyone's heart sank. The family and villagers are in shock.
Is this the first time this has happened?
The most frightening thing is that this is the third such incident in the last eight months. In August, eight-year-old Noorjil Haq was taken yonder by a leopard. His soul was found several kilometers away. In June, four-year-old Roshini moreover became the victim of a leopard. The death of three subsequent children has spread fear in the unshortened area.
Why are people living in fear?
Leopards are often seen virtually tea gardens. Dense bushes and hilly terrain provide them a place to hide. Villagers say that leopards consider small children as easy prey. For this reason, people are now wrung of leaving their children outside.
Now what's next?
There is both wrongness and fear in the village. People want the forest department to take firsthand action, and this leopard should be caught. There is moreover a demand to increase security and cordon off the gardens. Forest officials say that teams are monitoring the leopard's worriedness in the zone and preparations are stuff made to set traps.
The continuous incidents have raised the question as to how the loftiness between human settlements and forests has wilt so short. But for now, the village has only one concern—the safety of the children.
