Leopard Attack on Tea workers

In another of those incidents of man-animal conflict, a leopard mauled three workers of the Aibheel Tea Estate in the Dooars and itself got killed in the bargain. The incident took place last week and has sent an alarm throughout the industry, particularly in the remotely located plantations.

Leopards and elephants often wander into tea plantations for physiological reasons or to breed. According to industry officials, the leopard in this particular instance had taken refuge in a stretch of tall grass that had been planted to revitalise soil conditions after uprooting tea bushes. The practice is a normal and routine exercise in tea plantations.

“Unless the forest department makes arrangements to ensure that animals did not stray out of the forests, there is no way the industry can solve such a problem. Tea workers fall prey to such leopard attacks almost every year,” tea officials lamented.

Source > The Statesman