Farmer killed, another injured in leopard attack at Ampara

by Ifham Nizam

A Sri Lankan leopard, scientifically known as Panthera pardus kotiya, killed a farmer and injured another villager on Wednesday night at Panama in Ampara, police said.

“Generally, leopards in our jungles are scared of humans, but if they do encounter people and find it an easy target, the tendency would be higher for them to attack”, says researcher-cum-author Rajika Gamage.

Under the circumstances, the big cats would prefer to attack a human rather than a wild boar or a deer. Naturally, most of their prey have antelopes or horns but humans have nothing other than nails, he said.

Gamage who conducts research on leopards in the upcountry told The Sunday Island that leopards usually don’t take on humans who are in a standing position. Those in sleeping or sitting positions are more vulnerable.

He opined that the leopard responsible for the latest attack could be the same animal which killed a wildlife officer and injured another a year ago. “Studying the proximity of the distance would reveal whether it was the same leopard”.

He said that recently a leopard killed a woman during Pada Yatra while she was squatting to answer the call of nature. However, the incident where a woman was killed by a leopard at Nawalapitiya was puzzling as they usually don’t first attack the face of a victim first.

Gamage explained that dragging a person is easy for a grown leopard. It would be like “grabbing a loaf of bread”.

Meanwhile, more than 20 leopards were killed since January 2020, according to the Wildlife Department. This year the department will be conducting a series of awareness programs to prevent leopard deaths due to human intervention.

Wildlife Conservation Director (Health) Dr. Tharaka Prasad  told The Sunday Island that the Sri Lankan leopard is strictly protected under the Fauna and Flora Protection Ordinance. Sri Lankan leopards are regarded as an endangered species.

However, in recent months, several deaths of leopards have been reported from some parts of the country, particularly after the animals were caught in snares and sustained critical injuries.

Some environmentalists claim that leopards are being deliberately trapped and killed for their bone fragments used in traditional medicines.

“Using snares and traps to kill leopards are strictly prohibited under the law, but it continues to happen”, Dr. Prasad said conceded.

Sometimes, leopards fall prey to snares set up for other animals”, he added.