Expert says it is 'even consuming intestines, which is a surprising aspect'

efforts have drawn a blank as the animal continues to elude them

Cunning: The blood-thirsty jungle cat is said to lie in wait for inebriated drinkers to totter by before pouncing, tearing them to pieces and eating their flesh (stock image)

A man-eating leopard is terrorising villagers in a remote part of India by only attacking men as they stumble home drunk - and has claimed at least 12 human lives in two years, villagers say.

The blood-thirsty jungle cat has become infamous across the Didihat region of the Himalayas, in northern India, where it is said to lie in wait for inebriated drinkers to totter by before pouncing, tearing them to pieces and eating their flesh.

It has cast such fear across the region that local officials have dispatched an elite team of sharpshooters to hunt and kill the beast.

But their efforts have so far drawn a blank. And, last month, the leopard again resurfaced to claim its twelfth victim, a 44-year-old man from Badeth village.

The animal's reign of terror has provoked such fear across the region that residents of more than 50 villages are refusing to go outdoors after sundown.

Madan Paneru, from Kotali village, told the Daily Telegraph: 'Villagers are terrorised by the wild animals and it's almost impossible to venture out after dark. Moving from one village to another or to markets through forested area becomes difficult.

'People carry sticks with them and remain alert all the time. Many in the village believe that drunk people are easy prey for the wild.'

Armed hunters have repeatedly been dispatched by the Uttarakhand Forest Department to kill the beast before it causes any more deaths, but thus far without luck.

Pithoragarh's District Forest Officer Y.K. Singh said: 'This month we had sent a team of shooters in the affected village, but they were unsuccessful in their mission.

'This is the third attempt made so far'.

The beast began its killing spree in January 2012, when it attacked a 46-year-old man from the Simar village.

It went on to slay five more victims before that year was out, and five more in 2013.

Already this year it has killed two people, including the 44-year-old man from Badeth village on August 1.

Gripped by fear: The animal's reign of terror has provoked such fear across the Didihat region of the Himalayas (pictured), northern India, that residents of more than 50 villages are refusing to go outdoors after sundown

Wildlife expert Lakhpat Rawat said: 'After the forest department issued the warrant, I visited some of the affected areas in Didihat. We even spotted the animal, but failed to shoot it down.

'The leopard is old and possibly without canines and it appears he has developed a taste for the human flesh. The animal is even consuming intestines, which is a surprising aspect'.

But Belinda Wright, leading conservationist and head of the Wildlife Protection Society of India, cast doubt on the claims that the leopard was specifically targeting drunks.

"Quite frankly when people are drunk and weave their way back home to the village they are easy prey,' she said. 'I don't think the leopard is targeting drunk people, just people stumbling along the path at night.'

She added: 'I'm sure you won't taste any better because you've consumed liquor.'