Parbati Dangi, 50, of Baidi, Barbardiya Municipality-10, died in a leopard attack on Wednesday afternoon.

She was cutting grass in the Fenapati Community Forest near her home when a leopard attacked her on the neck. 

On Poush 2, Dinesh Tharu, 32, of Dafaiya, Barbardiya-10, who had gone to do forced labor in the village's Simrawa Community Forest, was attacked by a leopard while he was defecating in the forest. Tharu's body was found with his chest, neck, and left thigh eaten away. 

On Mangsir 2, Gopi Tharu, 59, of Barbardiya-11, was killed in a leopard attack while he was cutting grass in the Kala Belbhar Community Forest. 

On Mangsir 3, Ajita Tharu, 18, of Barbardiya-4, was injured when a leopard attacked her while she was going to collect straw stored near her home.  After three people died in leopard attacks in a month, residents of Barbardiya Municipality and its surrounding areas have become terrified.

Tilku Chaudhary of Dafaiya, Barbardiya Municipality-10, said that the concerned bodies have been silent despite the continuous leopard attacks for a long time. ‘People are even afraid to step out of their homes due to the fear of leopards,’ he said. ‘As the concerned bodies do not show much interest in controlling them, we are facing human losses every day.’

On July 30, Jagatrani Tharu, 45, of Bhainsahi, Gulariya Municipality-12, was taken away by a leopard while she was plowing rice in the field. On July 31, Tharu’s body was found in a sugarcane field. Similarly, on Bhadra 29, 27-year-old Kavita Rana of Gulariya-12 was killed in a leopard attack while she was going to cut grass in the Ketuwai Community Forest.

According to the data of the Division Forest Office, only 11 people have died due to leopard attacks in the forest area of ​​the district in the past five years. In the fiscal year 078/079, 2 people died and 2 were injured due to leopard attacks, in the fiscal year 081/082, 4 died, 13 were injured, and in the current fiscal year 082/083, 5 people died and 7 were injured, including 2 women from Gulariya, 2 women and 1 man from Barbardiya.

Information Officer of the Division Forest Office, Shiv Bahadur KC, said that efforts are being made to spread awareness among the general public to avoid leopard attacks and to control the problematic leopard. ‘After the leopard attacked Barbardiya on Poush 2, we have been continuously setting up 4 cages around the area,’ he said. ‘The installed camera shows the leopard roaming around the cage.’ But it has not entered the cage.''

Ajit Tumwahamphe, head of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, said that leopards attack people while sitting and cutting grass or while working, mistaking them for food. 'Not only leopards with cubs, but other wild animals are aggressive. Sick leopards are often found entering settlements for easy food,' he said. 'It is necessary to inform the public about the behavior of wild animals in areas where leopard attacks are increasing.'

Leopard raising cubs in a sugarcane field near a settlement
A leopard with cubs has made a home in a sugarcane field in Sarjunadi Tapara, Gulariya Municipality-8. Locals have said that they saw a leopard with two cubs while cutting grass in a sugarcane field last week.

Locals have become alarmed after incidents of leopard attacks started occurring in this area. Injat Ali Manihar of Gulariya Municipality-8 said that the leopard, which has been preying on livestock every day, has increased the risk of attacking children. ‘I am afraid to even go out due to the fear of leopards seen around the settlement,’ he said, ‘It has become difficult to protect children.’