Leopard of Gummalapur

The Leopard of Gummalapur, also known as the Spotted Devil of Gummalapur, was a man-eating Indian leopard responsible for the deaths of 42 people in the villages of Gummalapur and Devarabetta in southern Karnataka over an area of 250 square miles (650 km2). At sundown, the villagers would barricade their doors, daring to venture out only in daylight. This caused a health crisis, as sanitation was poor, and the villagers dared not venture to the adjacent wasteland which acted as a latrine. In its frustration, the leopard began entering through the thatched walls and roofs of the huts, in one case, killing all four inhabitants of one hut. It was eventually killed by Kenneth Anderson, who would later note that the animal had an injury preventing it from hunting its natural prey. Anderson narrated the events in his Nine Man-Eaters and one Rogue, published in 1954, though the exact dates of the attacks are not specified.