Leopard of the Yellagiri Hills

The Leopard of the Yellagiri Hills was a man eating Indian Leopard which claimed three victims in the vicinity of the Yellagiris, a crescent formation of hills east of the Jolarpet Junction railway on the Southern Railway. It was killed by Kenneth Anderson, who described it as thus;

“... he was most unusual in his habits, even for a man-eater. He had repeatedly attacked his victims in broad daylight. Only tigers do this, as man-eating panthers, being inherent cowards at heart, usually confine their activities to the hours of darkness.”

The leopard originally limited itself to killing the cows of a herdsman named Nathan, who, over a three-month period, lost four of his animals to the beast. Two other herdsman in his village lost a couple each. When the monsoon season arrived, the cattle were transferred into the village itself. The leopard followed the herds, but was driven out by the herdsman every time, until one day, hunger drove it to kill a cow in front of two men. The leopard refused to be intimidated, and frightened off the herdsmen with loud growls. The villagers enlisted the help of a forester named Ramu, who at first hesitated to take on the assignment due to his lack of experience in hunting carnivores. He soon conceded and a day later, requested that a goat bait be tethered near a banyan tree close to where the leopard usually frequented. With the help of some villagers, he built a machan on the tree, and stood watch. Two hours later, at six p.m, the leopard took the bait. Ramu fired his single barreled 12 bore shotgun, which had been loaded with L.G cartridges, at the leopard. The leopard retreated into the jungle, and though it left a blood trail, it was not to be found the following morning.

Two months later, in the same area, the leopard mauled a 16-year-old boy, who managed to fight off the animal with a stick. Three weeks later, the leopard killed a goatherder who had launched himself on the animal in defence of his flock. The next morning, a search party of 30 villagers armed with clubs and staves went in search of the goatherder and found his half eaten body under heavy brush, one hundred yards from where there could be clearly seen splashes of blood and leopard pug marks. Kenneth Anderson was informed by the villagers of the death a few days later. Anderson asked the local Patel for a goat, and a small kid was purchased from a neighboring hamlet. With the help of the villagers, Anderson constructed a machan with the wood from a nearby jackfruit tree, and tethered the kid twenty feet away. The panther never came, and by 9:15 p.m, Anderson gave up the vigil. He tried again unsuccessfully for three days, and later, returned to his home in Bangalore, instructing the Patel to inform him should the leopard attack again.

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Wikipedia