SANGUEM
Two riders were injured while another had a lucky escape when a leopard pounced on three different vehicles within a gap of about 15 minutes at Donole-Rivona late Wednesday evening.
According to sources, the first incident took place when the leopard pounced on a two-wheeler and the rider fell off the vehicle, but escaped with minor injuries A few minutes later, the leopard jumped on a four-wheeler causing minor damages to the exterior of the four-wheeler.
A short while later, Mohan Wadkar of Wadem-Sanguem was injured while his brother and pillion rider, Prashant, had a lucky escape when the leopard pounced on their two-wheeler as they were returning home.
On receiving the news of the three incidents, a forest team led by RFO Deepak Mahale rushed to the site. The team conducted a search in the area but could not locate the leopard.
A team comprising a range forest officer and four guards have been sent to Rivona to take stock of the situation and to initiate measures to trap the leopard to ensure safety and security of locals in the area.
Locals claimed that all three incidents took place in an area which does not have street lights and the leopard took advantage of the darkness to pounce on the vehicles.
Incidentally, a number of vehicle mishaps involving animals have been reported in the villages of Netravali and Rivona. Last month, a youth from Kazur died after his two-wheeler rammed into a bison at Sulcorna late in the evening.
Locals claimed these incidents involving wild animals have been taking place mainly due to a lack of street lights along the main roads leading to the villages.
