Leopard on the loose: Big cat goes on the attack after straying into village

By MAIL FOREIGN SERVICE

The leopard attacks a forest guard at Prakash Nagar village near Salugara in north-east India


This is the horrifying moment a fully grown leopard pounces on a forestry department official in a village in deepest India.

The big cat mauled six people after straying into the village from a nearby national park and becoming startled by curious humans.

The forest guards eventually managed to corner and successfully tranquilise the beast but not before it attacked one of their own men.


Villagers can only watch in horror as the leopard which mauled a number of people lands on a forest guard


These pictures show the amazing scene as it unfolded in Prakash Nagar village, near Salugara on the outskirts of Siliguri, in Assam, north-east India.

Perched on corrugated rooftops and walls, the villagers watch the action in a mixture of horror and excitement.

The village, which is surrounded by national parks and is , sits in the slim section of India between Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

Leopards are occasional visitors to town - but happily there was a happy ending as the leopard eventually slipped into unconsciousness in an alleyway after a forest guard managed to connect with a dart.


The guards eventually get the beast under control and tranquilise it. It then makes its way to an alley before falling into unconsciousness



Villagers grab a rooftop view to watch the excitement unfold in Prakash Nagar village


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Ice to see you: Snow leopards have been discovered thriving in war-torn Afghanistan

By Daily Mail Reporter


Well spotted: The Wildlife Conservation Society's cameras snapped secretive snow leopards across the mountains of Afghanistan


Despite a savage war being fought there, Afghanistan is home to a healthy population of snow leopards, a wildlife group has discovered.

The big cats are among the most elusive animals on earth and their numbers are threatened, but the World Conservation Society has documented a relatively large number of the predators in the war-torn country using camera traps.

The usually solitary animals have been snapped at 16 locations across the Wakhan Corridor, a long panhandle in north-eastern Afghanistan free from the insurgency that plagues most of the country, the campaign group said today.

Snow joke: These leopards keep warm in cold climates thanks to their thick fur coats


Only some 4,500 to 7,500 snow leopards live across a dozen nations in the high mountain ranges of Central Asia, usually at altitudes between 9,800 and 18,000 feet.

The cats are poached for their pelts and killed by shepherds guarding their flocks upon which the leopards sometimes prey.

The sleek, fuzzy-tailed leopards are also captured for the pet trade, while an increasing demand for their penises and bones in China, where some believe they enhance sexual performance, has also led to their decimation.

‘This is a wonderful discovery. It shows that there is real hope for snow leopards in Afghanistan. Now our goal is to ensure that these magnificent animals have a secure future as part of Afghanistan's natural heritage,’ Peter Zahler, the World Conservation Society's deputy Asia director, said in the

Cat's amazing: The snow leopards have adapted to live at very high altitudes and are very secretive

Rock on: This snow leopard was filmed getting up close and personal with a huge boulder

Paws for thought: Sadly, these magnificent animals are poached for the distinctive fur coats


The New York-based group has been working in the Wakhan Corridor, which borders China, Pakistan and Tajikistan, since 2006 on protecting wildlife including the Marco Polo sheep and the ibex.

George Schaller, a wildlife biologist with the society, has proposed creating a reserve in the region.

The statement did not estimate the number of leopards in the corridor, but said the species remained threatened.

The society, which works with the U.S. government's aid arm, USAID, is providing conservation education in every Wakhan school, has trained 59 rangers to monitor wildlife, constructed predator-proof livestock corrals and started an insurance scheme to compensate shepherds for livestock taken by predators.


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Definitely ready for HER close-up: Leopard who got a little too close for comfort to photographer

By Daily Mail Reporter


Close and personal: The baby leopard leapt up to the roof of the Jeep, shocking photographer Sergey Ivanov, 50


This big cat is definitely ready for his close up, as he leaps up on to the top of a Jeep, where a wildlife photographer gets the shock of his life while trying to capture the leopard.

Sergey Ivanov, 50, was petrified as the beast jumped up for a close encounter while he was on safari in Namibia, near the Botswana border, along with his friend Sergey Kotelnikov, who had originally pointed out the animal.

As the pair stopped to take a closer look, they both hauled themselves on to the roofs of their respective Jeeps, so as to gain a fantastic photographic position.

Here, kitty kitty: The photographer recoils as the big cat jumps five-metres to reach the roof


And as both amateur photographers whipped out their cameras to begin snapping the baby leopard - it slowly crawled towards them.

But, completely out of the blue, the female leopard amazingly leapt over five feet on to the roof of the Jeep Mr Kotelnikov was perched upon.

Staring the cat in the eye, Mr Kotelnikov's face dropped with sheer panic as the cat lunges towards him.

Shock: The Russian photographer has a panic as the leopard jumps up on to his Jeep


But luckily it is only interested in having its picture taken up close and personal and calmly sits in front of the Russian photographer.

Mr Ivanov, who took the incredible pictures from an adjacent Jeep, said: 'Me and my close friend Sergey were on a photo-safari in Africa and were "shooting" big cats in a private park in Namibia not far from Botswana border.

'We both suddenly spotted a baby leopard hiding in the long grass at the side of the dirt track. We watched as it slowly crept up to us, thinking we couldn't see it, and waited for the best shot.

'Unfortunately, Sergey was struggling with his camera as the leopard was too close to him. So as he was blind to what the Leopard was doing he didn't see it get right up close to his van.

'The it just leaped on to the roof - you can clearly see how he felt by his facial expression!'

Yikes! The leopard then set upon Ivanov's bag and refused to let go


Part-time Russian wildlife photographer Mr Ivanov, from the city of Kirov, who ventured to the wilds of Africa last year, added: "It was amazing - we never thought this small leopard could jump on to the roof of the car.

'My friend was scared. I was frightened too even though I was on the roof of the other car as you expect it to begin attacking.

'But we soon relaxed as we understood that this big kitten was just playing.'

After realising the leopard was harmless, the pair jumped down from their vehicles and begin interacting with the playful the animal.

But, as the little leopard took a shine to Mr Kotelnikov - whom it had earlier scared - the cheeky kitten jumped on to his bag and smashes his camera into pieces.

The 44-year-old, from Kirov in Russia, said: 'I wasn't really upset - as this was the last day of our safari!

'And the joy of getting so close to a wild animal made up for all the sorrow I felt about my broken camera.

'The leopard did leave me with small bruises on my hands and face from where it kept jumping up on me.

'They are strong animals even at that age.'

Popular: Tourist from all over the world travel to Namibia to enjoy safari trips


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Leopard mauls child on field trip to Kansas zoo

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Deadly: The boy had a lucky escape at Sedgwick County Zoo after this leopard clawed him


A boy on a school field trip to a zoo was mauled by a leopard yesterday after he scaled a railing and approached the animal's cage, a zoo spokesman said.

The Wichita Eagle reported on its website that the boy received lacerations to his head and neck after the cat stuck a paw through its cage and grabbed him by the side of the head. He was taken to a hospital, where he’s said to be in a fair condition.

Jim Marlett, spokesman for the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita, said the boy climbed the four-foot (1.2-metre) railing surrounding the leopard exhibit, crossed an eight-foot (2.4-metre) gap and stood next to the metal mesh fence of the animal's cage.


Warning: The leopard's enclosure at the zoo, which advises visitors to keep at a safe distance


Naomi Robinson, who was at the zoo with her two children when she saw the attack around 1:20pm, said it looked like the leopard was trying to pull the boy into the enclosure.

‘It happened so quick,’ she said.

The boy began screaming as soon as the leopard grabbed him. A man and woman nearby jumped over the railing and ran to help him, Robinson said.


Injury: The boy was taken away by this ambulance to hospital, where he remains in a good condition


he cat let loose of the boy when the man kicked it in the head, Robinson said.

Bystanders wrapped the boy's head in shirts and towels to stop the bleeding as he lay on the ground between the fence and leopard case.

‘It was terrible,’ Robinson said. ‘I'm really shaken right now. I'm just glad my children didn't see it. They were looking the other way.’

A Wichita School District spokeswoman told The Associated Press that counsellors were sent to the zoo to talk with children who saw the attack.


Animal magic: The hippo enclosure at Sedgwick County Zoo


Leopards are enormously powerful and in the wild often drag their prey into trees after they’ve killed them. In fact, they often spy their prey from lofty branches, their spotted coats enabling them to blend into the leaves.


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Spotted, the leopard who thinks he's a meerkat

By Daily Mail Reporter


In the meerkat for a tasty snack: This leopard confounded a safari guide with his unusual stance


A safari guide thought he was seeing things when he caught a glimpse of this extremely rare sight.

A big cat had been stalking a warthog and when his prey disappeared into some particularly long grass he was forced to stretch himself to his full height like a meerkat on watch.

Every few minutes the leopard would balance expertly on his hind legs to keep track of his tasty prey.


The bizarre spectacle was caught on camera by 27-year-old Letsogile Kamogelo at Savuti Camp in the Linyanti Game Reserve, Botswana.

Mr Kamogelo, who works as a safari guide, said he had never heard of a leopard behaving in such a way.

He explained: 'This leopard had spotted a warthog from a distance and stalked it for almost an hour.


'He kept a reasonable distance from his prey but he lost sight of the warthog when it went in to tall grass.

'That's when he stood on his hind legs to try and catch sight of it.

'He lifted himself up for at least 45 seconds to a minute at a time. I don't think he was comfortable holding the position for any longer.

'He was very careful whenever he stood up because he didn't want to fall on his back.

'This is a very unusual behaviour and I have never heard or read about it before.

'There is a lot of animal behaviour that has not been recorded and it is mostly influenced by the type of terrain.

'The animal has to respond to the changes within its environment and it may display unusual behaviour like this.

'I've had a great response to the picture. It surprises a lot of people - including those who have been guiding for many years.'



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You’re hiss-tory! Unlucky python ends up in tug-of-war between two leopards

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Losing stretch: the African rock python was fought over by a mother leopard and her son after she plucked it from the South African bush


A massive snake may not be the average feline's choice of chew toy.

But there was no stopping these leopards having a tug of war with one unlucky python.
The six-and-a-half-ft (2m) long African rock python became the unwilling 'rope' in the game, after being captured by a female leopard in the long grass.


But as she dragged it, still wriggling, along behind her, she was ambushed by her over-zealous son who wanted to land the kill for himself.

The young male snatched the end of the enormous snake in his powerful jaws, and tried to tug it away from his mother.

The two big cats fought ferociously over their prey for half an hour, in front of stunned guests at the MalaMala game reserve, South Africa.


No escape: the leopards struggled for half an hour in front of guests at South Africa's MalaMala nature reserve


The brutal battle was only ended when the female leopard gave up, retreating to a tree while her son tucked in to his prize.

But he only ate a morsel before deciding it was not to his taste, and discarding the snake's body in the long grass.

The unusual scene was caught on camera by American photographer Josh Scheinert, who was staying at the MalaMala reserve.

Antony Mulligan, 31, manager of the reserve, said: 'It was a really incredible sight - it's very, very rare.


Not to my taste: the young leopard won the tug of war but gave up on his prize after eating only a morsel


'I've never seen anything like it before. Just to see two adult leopards together is rare, so to get them in a tug of war situation like this is amazing.

'We first saw the female leopard walking up the road, when she spotted this python trying to cross.

'She stalked it and caught it, but her son was following her.

'He's almost four and much larger than her. He should have set out on his own to be independent already, but he's a bit of a mummy's boy and keeps hanging around.
'In this case, he let mum do all the hard work then came in to take the snake for himself.

'He grabbed one end of it, and they got into a tug-of-war with the snake between them.

'They were probably at it for a good half hour before the female gave up and her son started feeding on it.

'After all that effort, he actually left most of it and discarded the snake in the long grass.

'It really was an amazing sighting.'


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Newest big cat species the Sunda Clouded Leopard is actually two different animals

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Captured: Sunda clouded leopard from Borneo taken by an automated camera-trap set up by the Conservation of Carnivores in Tangkulap Forest Reserve on Sabah.


The 'newest' big cat species known to science, the Sunda clouded leopard, has two sub-species, scientists have discovered.

Researchers only realised it was a new species - distinct from clouded leopards living elsewhere in Asia - in 2007.

Now a genetic analysis has confirmed that the cat comes in two forms, one living in Sumatra, the other on Borneo.

Clouded leopards are the most elusive of the big cats, which include lions, tigers, jaguars, snow leopards and normal spotted leopards. Living across south-east Asia, into China and India, the leopards have larger cloud-like spots than ordinary leopards.


Elusive: A Sunda clouded leopard from Borneo, a different subspecies from its Indonesian relative


Until 2006, all clouded leopards were thought to belong to a single species. However, genetic studies revealed that there are actually two quite distinct clouded leopard species.

As well as the better known clouded leopard living on the Asian mainland ( Neofelis nebulosa ), scientists determined that a separate clouded leopard species lives on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

This leopard is now known as the Sunda clouded leopard ( Neofelis diardi ), though it was previously and erroneously called the Bornean clouded leopard. The two species are thought to have split over one million years ago.

Since 2008, it has been listed as vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.


Evolution: The Clouded Leopard was marooned on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo as sea levels rose after the last ice age


In 2010, a team of scientists working in the Dermakot Forest Reserve in Malaysia released the first footage of the cat in the wild to be made public.

Led by Mr Andreas Wilting of the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research in Berlin, Germany, the researchers captured images of a Sunda clouded leopard walking along a road.

Now Mr Wilting and colleagues have published new research which reveals even more about this mysterious cat.

They sampled 15 Sunda clouded leopards living on Borneo and 16 living in Sumatra, conducting molecular and genetic studies to reveal their origin.

The researchers also examined the skulls of 28 further Sunda clouded leopards and the fur coats of 20 specimens held in museums, as well as the coats of cats photographed on both islands.

'Although we suspected that Sunda clouded leopards on Borneo and Sumatra have likely been geographically separated since the last Ice Age, it was not known whether this long isolation had caused them to split up into separate sub-species,' said Wilting.

But his team's analysis confirms that the cat comes in two forms, a Bornean subspecies N. d. borneensis and the Sumatran subspecies N. d. diardi.

Their results are published in the journal Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution.


New clouded leopard species caught on video (HD)



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Spot the scaredy cat hiding from a lion in the rainbow: Leopard takes refuge high in the treetops

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Over the rainbow: The incredible image of the leopard hiding in a tree against a stunning rainbow backdrop was taken in Kenya by British wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein


Judy Garland's dream-like song tells of a land somewhere over the rainbow, but she wouldn't have expected to find it populated with East African leopards.

But in this amazing photograph, the beautiful creature can be seen hiding out high on a tree branch, his tail hanging lazily down over the tree branch on which he rests.

It was taken by wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein, who found Nariku the leopard escaping the attentions of a lion on the ground.

But the incredible backdrop provided the Briton with his 'favourite ever wildlife moment'.

Nariku, a leopard well known to Goldstein and his manager at a nearby camp, had been spotted hiding in the tall tree due to a bigger cat - the lion - circling the ground below.

With leopards like Nariku normally elusive creatures, the chance to capture the feline resting on a clear branch proved too good to miss and led to an amazing portrait of the safari.

'Astonishingly [Nariku] was not only there for an hour or so but also only 200 metres from camp,' Goldstein explained.


Way up high: A leopard is bathed in the stunning light of a rainbow as it hides from a circling lion in East Africa


'I was thinking it would just be a nice silhouette as I was convinced the storm had blanked out any available light but at the last gasp it shone through violently so I drove round the other side to catch it bathed in light only East Africa and especially the Mara give you.

'When I saw the rainbow I gasped, it was out for about half a minute.'

The grandeur of the scenery left the snapper 'still shaking' - understandably - as he returned to camp.


Patience: A leopard hides steathily on a tree branch while a lion patrols below


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