Leopard rips flesh off villagers

Leopard rips flesh off villagers: "A large female leopard has gone on the rampage in a village in Sierra Leone, severely wounding two people, after it escaped from a trap, says a village chief."

Freetown - A large female leopard went on the rampage in a village in Sierra Leone, severely wounding two people, after it escaped from a trap that left the animal with deep cuts, a village chief said on Thursday.


Hunters shot dead the animal after it had "ripped flesh off the faces" of two villagers in the eastern Bambara area on Tuesday, chief Francis Foray Gandor said.


According to chiefdom records, it was the first time a leopard had been seen in the area since 1940, Gandor said.


"The two victims are in critical condition at the Kenema government hospital," he said. Doctors said their condition was "extremely serious but stable".


"The animal stepped on a bush trap but broke free with deep cuts on the side of the jaw and then went into a rampage, knocking down huts and damaging cooking utensils and sending villagers running into the bush," he said.


Wildlife Conservation officials said the animal weighed 85kg.

- SAPA