Pregnant young woman suffers horrific injuries as leopard attacks her in middle of bustling city

Third such incident in Guwahati, western India, in recent weeks


By TOM GARDNER


A pregnant woman suffered serious injuries after being badly mauled by a leopard in India - the third such attack there in as many weeks.

The big cat clamped its jaws around Akila Bibi's head and arms, leaving her with deep wounds to her scalp, after it when it strayed into the largest city the country's north-east Assam state.

The woman, who is in her early twenties, is currently recovering in hospital. Her unborn child, due in three months, was unharmed by the ordeal.

Savaged: Akila Bibi, who is in her 20s, is being treated for serious injuries after being attacked by a leopard in Guwahati

Her husband, labourer Abid Ali, said his wife lost a lot of blood and was unconscious.

He said: ‘The back of her scalp was badly mauled.’

The leopard caused panic when it wandered into a densely populated residential neighbourhood in Guwahati.

Caged: The fully grown leopard is now kept safely at Assam state Zoo following capture after it had mauled two people in Lalunggaon in Lakhara area of Guwahati.

The wild cat also pounced on a 20-year-old man during the same attack.
Moziz Haq suffered head injuries.

Speaking from his hospital bed, he told AFP news agency: ‘It was a thumping, slap-like feeling and I fell on the ground with blood splattered all over me’.

The animal was later tranquilised by forest officials and taken to a city zoo.

Mauled: Mafij Ali, 21, sustained deep wounds during the third attack in Guwahati, western India, this month

It was the third leopard attack in Guwahati this month.

In a gruesome incident captured on camera, three people were injured and one killed by a leopard on January 7. Three people were hurt in another attack last week.

Thousands of people are attacked by wild animals in India each year, with tigers, leopards, elephants and snakes the most dangerous.

Conservationists say an increasing number of wild animals are appearing in towns and cities because of urban and industrial encroachment on their natural habitat.


source:dailymail