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issn 0856 - 9135
Issue No. 0693:
Dec 3 - 7, 2011

Courts/ Police Log

Rogue leopard mauls 7-year-old boy

By Joseph Lyimo

A rogue leopard has mauled a seven year old boy Joshua Patrick to death in Endaw village, Madunga ward, Babati district, Manyara region.

Confirming the incident Regional Police Commander, ACP Liberatus Sabas, said that the incident took place on 25th November this year. The boy was herding animals within the village. Sabas said the leopard was a rogue male. After killing the boy it sucked its blood.

The remains of the boy were discovered by a villager who alerted his parents. The incident was reported to the Police who went and took the body to the hospital waiting burial.

RPC Sabas decried the pastoralists non-adherence to police calls not to let young children look after livestock leading to their being easy prey of wild animals from time to time. “The Police will ceaselessly keep on urging the pastoralist community to desist from having their young ones look after animals alone in the forests in order to avoid being killed by animals,” the RPC said.

Commenting on the same issue, Abrahamu Lundi, a resident of Endaw, added that pastoralists had made it a habit of letting young children look after livestock which brought about various problems from time to time.

“Apart from being killed by wild animals the children also let the livestock into crop farms. This causes friction between pastoralists and farmers,” said Mlundi.

Sounds more like a VAMPIRE leopard, rather than just a rogue leopard!