Four children and their teacher were injured when a leopard roamed into their primary school in a rare attack in Chad witnesses said.

Five people were hurt when the big cat entered an army colonel’s house at around 7am, said Moussa Issa, who lives nearby.

It then headed to the school where the other injuries occurred, another local resident said.

Security forces killed the leopard after it wandered close to a military base, reported Issa.

The leopard was a “domestic animal” owned by an army official, said residents in the Amsinene area in the capital N’Djamena.

Leopards are classified as a vulnerable species, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Wildlife conservation group Panthera says the number of leopards in Africa has plunged 40% in recent years and the exact number of leopards in the world is not known.