A six-year-old woman was mauled to demise by a leopard within the newest assault by the large cats in a district in India. Manisha Singh's daughter, Yashi, was within the entrance yard of her house within the village of Moosepur, Bijnor district, Uttar Pradesh, when she was grabbed by the large cat which ran off with the younger woman who was discovered hours later in a close-by sugarcane discipline.

Ms Singh mentioned: "I saw the animal come into our front yard, grab my daughter and run. That was the last time I saw my daughter alive."

Yashi's father, Tekchand, instructed the BBC: "There is terror in the villages."

Officials instructed the broadcaster that assaults by leopards aren't unusual within the space, however latest weeks have seen an increase.

Seven individuals have died in leopard assaults within the final three months with 5 of them occurring inside simply eight days between April 19 and 26.

Forest official Mahesh Chand Gautam instructed the BBC: "The attacks have also become extremely aggressive. But why that is happening now is yet to be ascertained."

Dr NVK Ashraf, Chief Veterinarian on the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), mentioned extra particulars are wanted concerning the circumstances across the assaults.

He defined that leopards are a standard sight in Bijnor which is a beautiful habitat for the animals as a consequence of its mixture of grasslands, wetlands and thick forest.

The Vice President of the WTI added that sugarcane crops within the space additionally present cowl for the beasts to cover and hunt.

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He mentioned an injured leopard which could be unable to hunt could also be led to assault what it considers as simpler prey.

Experts say lack of habitat can also be bringing leopards and other people into contact extra usually.

A paper revealed in November discovered that the conversion of forests and grasslands into areas of intensive agriculture and livestock grazing is the most important driver of wildlife decline on the earth.

One million species are susceptible to extinction with worldwide ecosystems altering from their pure situation, that means these could also be much less prone to meet the human race's wants.

Anish Andheria, President of the Wildlife Conservation Trust, instructed the BBC when giant carnivores begin to stay beside individuals, their behaviour modifications over generations.

He mentioned: "They will think of humans as part and parcel of their ecosystems, considering them to be prey."

Ten leopards have been caught in traps across the areas the place the assaults occurred and relocated to Amangarh forest reserve about 12 miles away.

This has helped scale back the variety of assaults prior to now, based on forest officers who've additionally warned agricultural staff to not sit down in fields because the leopards would possibly then consider them as prey.

In a separate incident, no less than 5 individuals had been mauled when a leopard strayed right into a courthouse in Ghaziabad in February.

Local police confirmed 5 to 6 individuals had been injured because the leopard lashed out "in panic".

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world's leopard inhabitants is lowering with the species on the organisation's pink listing.

The animal is hunted and traded for medication, its fur and in addition killed for sport.