This is the second killing by a leopard in Pithoragarh district this month. (Representational)

A leopard mauled a three-year-old boy to death after snatching him from the lap of his mother at a village in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh on Saturday morning.

The child was attacked when his mother was breastfeeding him in the courtyard of their home, Berinag forest range officer Jagdish Joshi said.

The leopard left the child after dragging him to nearly 250 metres as it was chased away by the villagers, Mr Joshi said.

The boy, Naitik Kark, was taken to a hospital nearby where doctors declared him dead, he said.

"A cage has been installed in the village and patrolling intensified," the range officer said.

This is the second killing by a leopard in the district this month.

A 22-year-old woman was killed by a leopard in Papdeo village of Pithoragarh forest division on September 3.