The leopard's paw was the only body part of the leopard which was left after the villagers ate it
A mob of nearly 100, agitated, surrounded a leopard in a village in Assam this morning. The leopard, who had strayed in the village from a nearby forest, had just minutes ago killed a village elder. Armed with sticks and sharp weapons, the mob ended up killing the leopard, and then did the unthinkable. They chopped up the animal into little pieces, and ate the meat.
As the forest cover thinned during winter, the leopard found its way to the Joypur village in Dibrugarh district at around 10 AM and attacked and killed 60-year-old Maikon Gogoi.
Four villagers from the mob sustained injuries as a result of the leopard defending itself from their fury. The villagers ultimately did manage to kill the leopard with their weapons.
The mob then proceeded to consume the leopard's meat as revenge. A photograph shows the leopard's paw, the only body part of the leopard which was left after the villagers consumed the leopard's flesh.
In Assam, incidents of man-animal conflicts like these are not uncommon. In an incident this month, according to reports, a leopard had attacked villagers in Dhirenpara area near Guwahati resulting in four people including a minor being injured from the attack.
In May, a wild elephant killed three family members in Gendrapara village in Goalpara district, after which locals
proceeded to block National Highway number 37 to protest government officials not doing enough to control elephant attacks. The police had to resort to a lathi charge to clear the highway.