People of Wangling in Langthil Gewog of Trongsa are living in fear after another leopard attack last week. This time, the victim was a dog. It succumbed to the injuries last Wednesday. Park officials are still patrolling the area for the cat after two men in Jangbi were mauled inside the house last month.
Wangling village is some three kilometres from Jangbi. The area falls under the Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park.
A villager, Tshewang, encountered the leopard in the afternoon above his village last Tuesday. According to him, the leopard was dragging a dog held in its mouth. “Seeing me, it dropped the dog and fled. The dog was alive then. I was lucky that it did not attack me,” he said.
According to the villagers, it is not the first time that they lost their livestock to the cat. They have lost several dogs, cats and chicken. Some also believe that the leopard follows them home and take away the livestock when it returns. The fear now has forced them to work in a group.
“There are no cases of leopard attacks even when we stay with our livestock in the forest in the past. But now, it started intruding into our home also,” said a villager.
The fear has also driven them home. “It is time for us to harvest paddy now. And due to the fear of leopard attacks, we stopped guarding the fields also. We are even afraid to sleep alone, so we spend the night in groups of three to four.”
Meanwhile, park officials say all their efforts will be in vain if they catch the wrong leopard. Officials say it is important to catch the same leopard that attacked the two men as it has tasted blood. They plan to trap, tranquillize and relocate the leopard away from human settlements.
Passang, Trongsa
Edited by Sonam
