6-year-old child eaten by leopard after being dragged away; victim's severed head found

Aleopard mauled and ate a 6-year-old girl near a forest area in India on Sunday. The child was playing outside her home when the big cat dragged her away.

The attack took place in Kalandarpur village near Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was reportedly the second such attack in two days in the area.

A senior forest official said the girl was dragged away by the animal while she was playing outside her home with a family member. The leopard grabbed the child in its jaws and took her toward an agricultural field. Her family members couldn't rescue her, regional media outlet Zee News reported.

Nearby residents arrived at the scene after they heard the victim's family members screaming. The child's father made several efforts to save the girl but failed. Police and forest department officials also rushed to the scene and began a search for the girl.

Her severed head was found in the forest area Monday morning, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Akashdeep Badhawan told the Press Trust of India. However, they couldn't find the remaining body parts.

Forest officials have put cage traps after local residents raised concerns about the presence of leopards in the area.

The latest incident comes just two days after a 7-year-old child was mauled by a leopard close to the same area.

Following the latest incident, forest officers have alerted the tranquilizing team. Authorities have urged villagers not to come out of their houses at night and to keep children inside homes.

There have been several fatal leopard attacks across the country over the last few months. Officials say big cat attacks account for more than half of the deaths in man-wildlife conflict incidents despite taking measures to tackle such cases.

Last month, a 2-year-old was mauled to death by a leopard in the Indian state of Gujarat. The child's partially-eaten body was later found.

"It ate around 70-80% of the body. The victim could be identified only by her clothes. Four cages have been set up in the area to capture the wild cat," forest range officer Arpit Bhariya reportedly said at the time.