Leopard Mauls 2 Children, Flees With 5-Year-Old Boy, Victim's Half-Eaten Body Found

A leopard killed a five-year-old boy and critically injured his four-year-old friend in a deadly attack in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

The two children were playing outside the victim’s home Monday evening when the leopard attacked them. The big cat then ran away with the boy. The girl was rushed to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. The villagers started searching for the boy but the search came to a halt when he wasn’t found.

The following morning, the half-eaten body of the child was found in a field a few meters away from the village with the face missing. Other body parts including the back and hands were also missing. Meanwhile, the girl remained in critical condition.

Following the incident, Manoj Shukla, a forest officer said the animal could not be declared a man-eater yet.

"It was the first time that a leopard ate a kid's body. We cannot declare it a man-eater yet. The attacks were carried out in different areas. We are not sure if the same leopard is attacking the villagers. We have alerted our staff and have put cages in different areas," he said.

The incident comes a day after a five-year-old boy, identified as Rohan, was taken away by a leopard in the same state. The big cat, however, dropped the boy and fled after his parents came to his rescue. The boy sustained injuries to the neck and was being treated at the hospital.