Hyderabad: Hyderabad-based hunter Nawab Shafath Ali Khan has joined the search for a leopard in Udaipur district, Rajasthan after the state's forest department declared the animal a “man-eater.” According to orders issued by the Rajasthan Forest Department, the leopard has been terrorising residents in the Gogunda area of Udaipur district and has killed seven people in the past 12 days.
Pawan Kumar Upadhyay, the state’s principal chief conservator of forests in the wildlife division, said that shoot-at-sight orders were issued, but the first option will be to tranquilise the big cat.
Khan, who was involved in the hunt for tigress Avni in the Pandharkawada forests of Maharashtra in 2018, joined the hunt on Tuesday. He was briefed on the events so far and accompanied by forest department officials in the area. It is worth noting that Avni was shot dead by Asghar Ali Khan, Shafath Ali Khan’s son, who assisted his father in that hunt.
The Rajasthan Forest Department has deployed 12 platoons of police to search for the animal, with each team including one designated shooter. Despite the placement of several trap cages, the leopard has evaded capture, making an active search necessary, officials reported.
