Leopard dies of knife wounds after attacking Indian villagers

The adult male leapt at locals and forest officials as they tried to drive it back toward a wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal state.

The leopard leaps on a forest guard.

KOLKATA // A leopard that mauled 11 people in a fierce showdown with Indian villagers has died of knife wounds after being captured.

In pictures: Leopard attack caught on camera

A dramatic sequence of photographs captures a leopard attack.

The adult male leopard leapt at locals and forest officials as they tried to drive it back toward a wildlife sanctuary in West Bengal state after it wandered into the village near Siliguri, about 600 kilomtres from Kolkata.

Forestry officials were forced to flee, dive for cover and even climb up on a jeep to escape the leopard's attacks.

The forest official Dharma Dev Rai says villagers used knives, stones and batons to beat back the cat.

It injured six villagers, a policeman and four forest guards before being hit with a tranquilliser gun on Tuesday. The people are recovering from their injuries, mostly swipes from the cat's claws.

The injured animal died within hours, and a post-mortem was being conducted.