Maneater Leopard Strikes Again In Pauri Garhwal – Woman Grievously Injured In Eieda Village
Pauri Garhwal, Oct 23:
In yet another attack by a maneater leopard, a village woman was grievously injured in Aikeshwar development block of Pauri Garhwal district.
According to information, the incident took place at village Eida Malla where Leela Devi was attacked by a predator while she was engaged in daily chores / collecting fodder. The victim was hurriedly taken to the Hans General Hospital near Satpuli for immediate prompt treatment.
Pauri Garhwal district is the worst sufferer in terms of maneater kills and grievous human injuries. During the past several months several people have been killed especially women going to collect grass / fodder.
Just 13 days ago, a 51-year-old woman Bina Devi was mauled to death by a leopard between 5 am and 6 am while cutting grass near Khandah village on the Srinagar-Pauri road. The forest department had to deploy trap cameras, cages and shooters after villagers blocked the Pauri-Srinagar Highway in protest.
Renowned shooter Joy Hukil, who is soft-spoken and has great respect for leopards, has killed nearly fifty of them, every one on government orders, along with one tiger.
With the operation in Bari village in Kot Block of Pauri Garhwal on 9th June this year, Hukil achieved the milestone of eliminating fifty man-eating tigers and leopards. That leopard had recently claimed the life of a woman in the village. Earlier in December 2025, Hukil had shot dead the Gajald man-eater – a 5-year-old female leopard that had killed 45-year-old Rajendra Nautiyal on the temple path near Pauri town.
Since Uttarakhand came into separate existence in 2000, the man-animal conflict has become a grave rural safety crisis.
– Government figures presented in the Assembly: Nearly 1,296 people have lost their lives since the year 2000 in wild animal attacks and a total of 6,624 people were also injured.
– Study by Mizoram University / Forest Dept records Dec 2025: 954 deaths due to encounters with wild animals between 2000 and 2025. Of these, 548 deaths and 2,127 injuries were caused by leopards alone, making it the deadliest species. Elephants caused 230 deaths, Tigers 106, Bears 70.
– Research paper in British Ecological Society Journal: Analysed 2,046 attacks between 2000-2019, 1,914 (average 98 per year) were attributed to leopards, of which 22.3% were fatal.
Last 5-6 Years – Sharp Rise:
Human-wildlife conflict has intensified sharply. Nearly half of the fatalities recorded since 2000 occurred in the past six years.
– Between 2020 and 2025, a total of 438 human deaths and 2,335 injuries were recorded – nearly 46% of all deaths since 2000.
– Fatalities touched a high of 84 in 2024, followed by 82 in 2022. Injuries peaked at 512 in 2024 and 488 in 2025.
– Between 2014 and 2024, leopard attacks resulted in 214 human fatalities and 1,006 injuries.
– In 2026 alone (Jan to Sept 30): Human-wildlife conflict killed 55 people and injured 407. Leopards caused 17 fatalities, followed by tigers with 12. From Jan to June 2026, 36 deaths were recorded – leopards 15, tigers 11.
Forest Minister Subodh Uniyal has announced increase in compensation from Rs 6 lakh to Rs 10 lakh and Rs 131 crore for mitigation, including quick response teams, cages, tranquilizers, bio-fencing and clearing bushes around villages.
But Pauri, which has the highest leopard population, along with Almora, Pithoragarh, Rudraprayag and Tehri remain the major conflict hotspots. In the last two months alone, Pauri has reported at least 4-5 fatal attacks, all while women were collecting fodder.
