Leopard decapitates a baby after snatching the nine-month-old from his cot while he was sleeping next to from his mother in India
- Dhaval Rathwa was asleep outside his home in Zari before attack on Tuesday
- Big cat clamped jaws around him and dragged him away as his mother slept on
- Rangers from Gujarat State Forest Department caught animal the next day
A leopard decapitated a nine-month-old baby after snatching him from his cot while he was sleeping next to his mother in India.
Dhaval Rathwa was attacked while snoozing at his house in Zari at around 4am on Tuesday.
The eight-year-old leopard clamped its jaws around Dhaval before dragging him away as his mother slept on. His mutilated body was found later that day, reports Times Now.
Rangers from the Gujarat State Forest Department caught the big cat in the early hours a day later by using cages with bait inside them.
This leopard is believed to have decapitated a nine-month-old baby after snatching him from his cot in Zari, India
From there, the animal was taken to the department's rescue centre in Pavagadh, where it is being monitored.
His father, Jaswant Rathwa, was given compensation from the government over the death.
This isn't the first time a young child has been decapitated by a leopard, with a three year old meeting the same fate in Jammu and Kasmir in December last year.
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That leopard was blamed for two other attacks in the area over a two-month period.
Official estimates suggest there are between 12,000 and 14,000 leopards in India.
There are no figures on the number of humans killed by leopards, but experts say there are hundreds of deaths each year.
Rangers from the Gujarat State Forest Department caught the big cat in the early hours a day later by using cages with bait inside them (file photo)
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