Rajapur:A leopard responsible for the death of a man in Rajapur Municipality-3, Tighra, has been captured by authorities.
According to National News Agency Nepal, the leopard attacked and killed Mangal Tharu, a 42-year-old local resident, on Thursday night. Following the incident, the Division Forest Office Bardiya set up two cages to trap the animal. Tolak Raj Chapagain, Acting Chief and Senior Forest Officer at the Division Forest Office, confirmed that the leopard was captured in one of the enclosures early this morning.
The captured leopard has been transferred to Bardiya National Park in Thakurdwara. The fatal attack occurred at midnight while Tharu, a member of the Tharu community, was sitting on the road in Chakkhapur. Despite being seriously injured, he was initially rescued by locals and taken to Rajapur Primary Health Center. However, due to the severity of his injuries, he was transferred to the Teaching Hospital in Nepalgunj, where he succumbed to his injuries on Friday.
Chapagain mentioned that efforts to capture the leopard began immediately after the attack, and the successful capture marks the first instance of a safe rescue in Bardiya this fiscal year. The district has seen an increase in leopard attacks, with 38 domestic animals and one person killed since mid-July. The Division Forest Office continues to use enclosures to manage these wildlife threats, as leopards and tigers increasingly target domestic animals in the area.