Wild leopard savages 15 people - including 3 policemen - after wandering into Kathmandu suburb

Angry crowd drag body of dead wild cat through the streets after attack

Marksmen have shot dead a leopard which seriously injured 15 people - including three police officers - after wandering into a suburb of Kathmandu.

A furious crowd dragged the mortally wounded animal through the streets of Gothatar on the outskirts of Kathmandu at around 6am today.

Graphic photographs capture residents fleeing for their lives as the leopard prowls between buildings.

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

Fear: An armed policeman orders locals to flee for their lives as the cornered wild leopard bounds between houses in the suburb of Gothatar, Katmandu, Nepal, today

Armed police from Metropolitan Police Circle, Koteshwor , were on the scene within minutes and managed to corner the animal, but not before it had mauled more than a dozen residents.

Upto three policemen and two officials from the Department of Forest were injured as they tried to trap the wild cat, according to local reports.



Police said that all the injured were rushed to Mother Land Hospital, Pepsicola for the medical treatment.

An angry mob soon gathered around the animal, kicking and beating the feline as it lay on the dust.



Trapped: Locals stamp and beat the body of the leopard after it was mortally wounded by police Fury: Nepalese people vent their frustration after the leopard attack by stamping on the head of the dead animal in Gothatar, Katmandu, Nepal, today Recently some calves were killed by a leopard in the jungle bordering Mrigasthali of the Pashupati area and the Tribhuvan International Airport. Officials have been under increasing pressure to act to prevent wild cat attacks following a spate of maulings, some of which have been fatal.

The issue of deadly wild animal attacks is said to be particularly acute in so-called buffer zones where human settlements and national parks border one another. In recent years, Nepal has developed a successful protection programme for many endangered species. Conflict: This is the latest in a growing number of animal attacks on poeple as towns and villages increasingly infringe on the habitat of wildlife

Shot dead: A crowd gathers around the dead leopard which had attacked 15 poeple, including three policemen, after wandering into a Kathmandu suburb today