Rhino Kills Villager, Five Injured By Leopard Attack In Assam

Guwahati, April 9: A villager was killed and five others injured when they were attacked by a one horned rhino and a leopard, in two separate incidents in Assam’s Morigaon district on Tuesday, officials said.

One man was killed by a rhino, which attacked him in the Kamarpur area under Mayang police station in the district.

“A rhino attacked the person, when he was engaged in his work in the jungle area near Pobitora wildlife sanctuary,” a police official said.

Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary was designated as a wildlife reserve in 1987, in Assam’s Marigaon district, approximately 30 km east of Guwahati. By road, it is around 48km, passing by the Brahmaputa river. The Great Indian one-horned rhino is found in approximately half of the sanctuary’s 38.8 square kilometres.

In a separate incident, at least five people were injured by a leopard, which attacked them in the Boralimari area in the district on Tuesday morning.

“The five persons were attacked by a leopard that strayed from Orang National Park, when they were busy in their paddy field,” police said.

The injured persons were identified as Ashruf Ali, Habibur Rahman, Chandra Banu, Hekimuddin and Juhar Ali. They were all rushed to Morgigaon civil hospital.

Top forest officials rushed to the area to capture the wild animal.

Hemanta Kumar Nath

Hemanta Kumar Nath is a correspondent in Assam, India, who reports on local news in Assam, the north east Indian state.