Leopard of The Central Provinces - Hunt For The Leopard

Hunt For The Leopard

An unnamed British hunter set up headquarters in a large village, where he compiled information on the leopard’s depredations with the local thana. Ten days later, a man entered the hunter’s camp one morning, and claimed that the leopard had entered a hut in a village a mile from the camp, and had unsuccessfully attempted to carry off a small girl the previous night. The hunter dressed the girl’s wounds and she recovered. The leopard struck again two days later in another village. The hunter searched for the leopard from his camp for three weeks without success.

With the body count rising, the hunter considered moving camp, until a boy from a village four miles away came to him, and stated that the leopard had dragged off his brother when they were driving cattle. At 14:00, the hunter set himself on a tree overlooking the boy’s corpse, in the hope that the leopard would return for it. The leopard came at night, though the hunter was unable to get a clear shot due to the darkness, and the canopy of dense creeper vine. The hunter attempted to startle the leopard into coming out for a clear shot, but all attempts failed to intimidate the leopard, even firing in the air had no effect. The shots got the attention of the villagers, but the hunter called at them to clear the area. After a few hours, the hunter fell asleep at 1:00, and upon waking, found the leopard clawing at the foot of the tree. The leopard left after a few moments, but returned three hours later to finish its meal. By sunrise, all that remained of the boy’s body were hands, feet and a few bones. The hunter attempted to track down the leopard in case it was still in the area, but after a search spanning one mile, he gave up. A few days later, the hunter moved camp ten miles away, hoping for more success. On the second night of his arrival, the hunter was awoken from his sleep by the leopard scratching outside his tent, though it was driven off by the shouting of the villagers.