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Leopard kills Indian Buddhist monk meditating in forest

| Updated: December 17, 2018 14:12:01


Leopard kills meditating monk in forest

A monk meditating in a forest in the Indian state of Maharashtra has died in a leopard attack, officials say.

Rahul Walke had been "meditating under a tree" in the Tadoba forest, which is a protected tiger reserve, said officials.

Photo: Abhishek Bhatpalliwar

Walke had been attached to a Buddhist temple which is inside the forest, but he had walked to a spot quite far away from it to meditate.

Forest officials said they had warned the monks against going too far inside.

"I would like to tell everyone not to go inside the forest," says GP Narawane, a forest official.

However, there are now plans to capture the leopard. "We have set up two cages and a camera trap, and we will try to tranquilise the animal," Narawane said.

State government officials have said they will give Walke's family 1.2 million rupees ($16,762; £13,280).

A monk belonging to the same temple said that he had seen the animal attacking Walke when he visited his meditation spot to give him food on Wednesday morning.

He said he went away to seek help but by the time he returned with others, Walke was dead, reports BBC.

The Tadoba reserve is home to an estimated 88 tigers. It is also home to a large variety of other animals, including leopards, sloth bears, hyenas and honey badgers.

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