A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl has been eaten by a leopard near a village in far-western Nepal, the latest in a series of leopard attacks.

The leopard entered the village in Baitadi district early on Wednesday and took off with the child, the Kathmandu Post daily reported.

The remains of the child's body were recovered from a field the next day.

People in at least 10 villages in the district have experienced leopard attacks.

Six people have been killed in the last five months, the report said.

More than two dozen leopard attack deaths were reported in the last two years.

The authorities deployed a team of security personnel five months ago to capture the leopard they believe is responsible for the attacks, but without success. Additional security was to be called in to track down the animal, the report said.