The maneater that stood it's ground

[dr.jayakumar]

Thanks so much,better than reading JIm corbett.Hats of Dr.prasanth singh.you should compile all your hunts.i will have the first copy.
with warm regards
dr.jk

[prashantsingh]

observe the horizontal fracture line in the mandibular right canine.
Such an injury is very painful and can alter an animals normal behavior.
The leopard was suffering from acute irreversible pulpitis.
The severe pain can cause the animal to become more aggressive.

[ckkalyan]

observe the horizontal fracture line in the mandibular right canine.
Such an injury is very painful and can alter an animals normal behavior.
The leopard was suffering from acute irreversible pulpitis.
The severe pain can cause the animal to become more aggressive.

Thank you prashantsingh for the explanation; the crack/fracture is what got my attention and piqued my curiosity!

[prashantsingh]

On Sunday morning Zaheer and I took an ex Director General wildlife to the spot and narrated the story. Zaheer had observed a nail which had split into two..He had shown it to all of us. The forest officer believed the nail must have been split when the animal was snared previously by poachers. The fractured canine must have resulted from the animal trying to escape the snare.

[xl_target]

Thanks for the professional diagnosis, Doc.

A sad end for a beautiful animal.
No wonder it turned to man eating as it couldn't dispatch its prey in the usual manner.

[prashantsingh]

There was an interesting experience I had which I must share with you all.
We found fresh leopard scat at both places where the maneater had hidden it's prey. The boy and the goat.
My understanding is that the leopard does so to mark the place. Big Cat poo has a distinct smell.
The leopard probably uses the scent to locate the meal when ever it comes next.
The other reason could be to keep other animals away. Stray dogs could snatch the prey. The strong leopard smell would keep dogs far far away.
Leopards are the apex predators here. Places where they share the habitat with the tiger. The tend to hide their kill up a tree. The tiger may be the King of the Indian jungle. But the leopard here is the undisputed Prince.

Timmy. We identified the size and the sex of the maneater on the second day itself. I shared the information with the DFO.
One school of thought was that the animal was a young inexperienced female (2 to 3 yrs of age).
The other school of thought was probably the leopardess was pregnant.
There was yet another wildlifer who felt that she had young cubs and was hence not leaving the area.
When the animal was finally shot.....all these assumptions were put to rest.

Why this maneater stood it's ground. Will perhaps always remain a mystery.

[zaheer.bakshi]

SHIKHARI TEAM


SANJAY SINGH


PRASHANTH SINGH


ZAHEER BAKSHI


SHAHID HUSSAIN

[essdee1972]

Prashantji, reiterating once more.... I have no words to speak about the dedication, perseverance, bravery, and kindness of you gentlemen! Three cheers for Prashantji, Safarigent, zaheer.bakshi, Corbett99, Singh and Shahid!

There are two tragedies in the life of a hunter.
One. .... Not getting the trophy he is after.
and
Second . (the more serious one). Getting it.

The above speaks volumes about true hunters like you gentlemen!

Sad to know this beautiful animal became a maneater and finally met her end due to injuries sustained in poaching. Poor thing!

It looks so small. Hard to believe that this animal could take on a human!

[prashantsingh]

Zaheer. Where is safarigents individual Photograph?

[bennedose]

A poignant but beautiful story. Thanks for taking the trouble to let me into that world for a brief while

[skeetshot]

Congratulations and Waidmannsheil to our intrepid shikaris

I missed all the narration earlier.

Good job done by all of you

Happier to read that it closed this way then by some schoolteacher and his 315.

[Baljit]

Wow!! very nice story again Prashant, finally it's over.
Congratulations to each and every one in this team for this.

Guy's Prashant send me this pictures on "Whatsapp" after this beast is down. I did not post this picture here because I want him to finish his story.



Enjoy
Baljit

[herb]

Congrats to the team on a successful hunt and a job well done.

Thanks Prashant, a great narrative that made for an interesting and exciting read. Loved the photographs.

Always sad to see a magnificent animal driven to untimely death due to habitat destruction and other effects to the Eco-system impacting the animals ability to hunt its natural prey, all of which can be traced back to humans.

[ckkalyan]

Here is a news article on how it all began: http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/two- ... 13895.html

Two minors killed in fresh leopard attacks in Dehradun
Raju Gusain | Mail Today | Dehdarun, January 18, 2015 | UPDATED 10:03 IST

Two boys fell prey to leopard attacks in separate incidents in Uttarakhand on Friday night. A leopard on the prowl has created panic in the Dehradun based Forest Research Institute (FRI) and its adjoining areas for a long time. On Friday night, the wild cat took away ten-year Krishna from Masandwala locality in Dehradun. The forest department launched an operation to trace the leopard till late Friday night but they were unable to get any lead. "The body of the boy was recovered today (Saturday)," Gulbir Singh, Sub Divisional Officer, Dehradun Forest Division, said.

After the body of the Dehradun kid was recovered, local residents of Masandwala became furious. They staged a demonstration with the body of the kid, and raised voice against the negligence of the forest department, demanding the death the man-eater.

In another incident, a three-year-old boy from Pitna village was killed by a leopard on Friday.

Pramod was playing in his courtyard when the wild cat attacked and carried him into the forest. The body of the boy was recovered about half a kilometre away from the village in Almora district on Saturday.

Conflict
The man-animal conflict continues to take a heavy toll in Uttarakhand every year and leopards figure on the top of the conflict chart. According to the Uttarakhand forest department data from November, 2000 to December, 2014, leopards have killed around 241 persons and injured over 408.

The Forest Research Institute in Dehradun is spread over 450 hectares. The picturesque campus of the FRI was used as a film location by famous Bollywood director Karan Johar for his hit film Student Of The Year in 2012.

Residents of the Forest Research Institute are living sleepless nights due to a leopard frequenting the campus. On 5 December last year, 15-year-old Ravi Kumar suffered injuries in a leopard attack at the FRI, which triggered panic among the residents.

[AgentDoubleS]

Prashant, what brilliant naration as usual. Keeps us on the edge of our seats. Its always a pleasure reading through your posts. It seems the leopard needed a visit to the dentist and thats exactly what it got. Congratulations to you, Safarigent and the others for getting the right man eater....yet again.

Cheers,
SS

P.S we've not seen safarigent's .375 mag on this forum yet, have we?