'Man-Eater' Snatches Away Baby Girl Playing Outside Her Home

A one-and-half-year-old girl who was playing in the front yard of her home was reportedly taken away by a leopard.

The toddler, identified as Rishika was snatched away by the predator on Saturday, July 24, in the Silla-Bahman village of Rudraprayag district in Dehradun, India. Due to the demands from the villagers, the leopard has now been declared a maneater.

A search operation has been initiated to locate the baby girl. However, the missing toddler’s father said there aren’t any hopes of finding her.

"The search operation has been underway since Saturday night. We have found bloodstains. The forest team is also combing the area. We are not even hopeful of finding her as she was a toddler. How would she survive the tough conditions of terrain and weather," the toddler's father, Prem Lal told the Times of India.

The chief warden of the forest, JS Suhag, has sanctioned an order to either capture or shoot the maneater. Two shooters, Zahir Baksh and Joy Hukki were deployed to the location.

"There is no coincidence here. The leopard went into the house and left with the child. So, villagers are worried as it could happen to other children too. So, we requested it to be trapped or killed," Rudraprayag Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Vaibhav Singh said.

The leopard attacks in the state have claimed four lives since July 15. About 18 people were reportedly killed by leopards so far, this year.

Six out of the seven leopards that were declared “man-eaters” have been killed, authorities said.

According to the forest authorities, the leopards have become aggressive and began targeting humans due to excessive rainfall.

“Leopards usually target dogs but during rains, they all move indoors. So the felines snatch away vulnerable humans,” JS Suhag said.

In a similar incident, a three-year-old girl was mauled to death after she was taken away when left unattended inside a vehicle.

The leopard attacked the toddler, identified as Mahiya Shabir on Sunday, July 11, when she was left alone inside a vehicle while her parents stepped out to the fruit market at the Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, India,

After "strenuous efforts", the toddler was found about half a mile away from the fruit market. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was later pronounced dead.