"A rogue leopard believed to have killed - and eaten - up to 15 villagers, including 10 small children over the past year is being hunted by Nepalese wildlife officials.
The severed head of the latest victim, a 4-year-old boy, was found on Saturday in a forested area nearly 400 miles west of the capital, Kathmandu. The Kathmandu Post reported the boy was playing in the courtyard of his house when the leopard struck, killing the boy then dragging the body into the forest. Police say at least one leopard with a taste for human flesh is on the loose, but that there could be others.
Last week, Nepalese officials offered a bounty of 25,000 rupees (approximately $280) for anyone who could bring in the animal dead or alive. The bounty amounts to several months wages for an average Nepali villager. Of the 15 victims so far, two-thirds are children from remote
villages. So far, there is no indication that any adult males have been attacked."

My money would be on the leopard living immediately by neighborhoods due to some physical handicap preventing proper aliment.

I love reading Capstick writing on Corbett's leopards. I was bothered (like I was when I saw Jaws and then went to the beach) with the leopards climbing through open windows and biting through people's skulls in their sleep, then dragging them out and sometimes up a tree. A 150 pound cat can drag me up a tree! That's some powerful animal. Cunning and smart too. I'd be more than a little scared to be camping out in leopard country.

That should be quite true. I recall some years ago a leopard in Kruger park killing a school kid walking home from school with two friends. Leopard shows up and kills the one. They found the leopard living almost exclusively in the staff village where the authorities killed it.

Was an old tom with some deformity making it hard to kill his own food. When they got it the local dogs and cats stopped diappearing also.

Hi Pieter,
I seem to recall a story of a Leopard living in a J'Berg suburb a number of years ago. It lived on dogs. A woman came home to find it asleep on her bed and the remains of her half eaten Poodle. Carn't remember if the SAPS shot it or if it was captured.
Its amazing how close they can live to Humans.
Whilst fishing in India I used to see fresh pug mags near the river in a fishing camp every morning. Its was an adult and cubs. I used to feed the camp dog which I named "Susan" It used to sleep ouside my ten. In the early hours she kicked off barking. I got the flash light and stood outside the tent and scanned around. It was 2:30am . In the light I caught a set of green eyes stareing back at me at about 50 paces. No sign of the cubs though.

Hey Paul, wonder why the leopard had to eat a poodle? Next time it should eat a liberal.

Nice story about India. So who in your life is/was Susan?

Hi Pieter,
I asked one of the camp staff what her name was and he said some great long unpronounceable name. So I said that i will call her Susan, no real reason,just came out with it. She was good at keeping monkeys from the tent. I have fished the same camp three times now and she always sleeps outside the tent.
The night of the Leopard I let her stay in the tent under the camp bed.
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Good story!

Gotta love dogs.

Amazing Paul to imagine that dog making it with the time between your trips. A dog with guts.

Hi Pieter,
Its a tough life for dogs in India. With snakes, croc's and Leopards around you wonder how she has survived. Last time I saw her, she looked like she had had pups. Don't know what had happened to them though.
Thinking back, I was woken on another time in the early hours. It sounded like branches been broken of trees. Really close to the tent. Thinking that it was an elephant near the tent,I got the flash light and went out side. Susan was curled up on a chair staring into the darkness but unconcerned. I shone the flashlight towards the noise. There was two Chitral Stags(spotted deer) antler's locked going around in cirlcles, I sat in another chair next to Susan and watched them for about 10 min's before they moved off. I took a photo of them but they were about 40ft away and the flash didn't catch them very well.

Man that sounds like the type of thing you can tell your grandchildren about. Bet you did not get much sleep after that.

I was in that part of Nepal the spring of '76. It was some pretty rough country then. I imagine it has not changed much. The local people were very hardy but jovial. I agree the leopard must be old or infirm.

Hi Pieter, with all the mis-advenures over the years , I think I will end up boring any future grandkids to tears!

Hi Randy,
The Nepalease are very hardy, just take a look at The Gurkhas! They are also very lovley people. Back in the early 90's I had a fall whilst treaking and was looked after by some ex-Gurkhas. I was given a Khukri when I left , which I still have.
Infact I have a bit of a collection now.
Cheers,
Paul

in alot of ways leopards are like our coyotes, living close to people doesnt phase them unlike some of the big cats....like the yote they are the right size to be really adaptable, able to hunt everything from rats to large animals so its no big deal to them to live in a city....

not all maneaters are old or infirm, in the wild a favorite food of the leopard is a baboon and to a leopard we are nothing but a big baboon without the impressive teeth...plenty of maneater leopards have been perfectly healthy, a few have even been above average specimens, very healthy and fit individuals....

Since we are talking about big cats, I have a question.

For any of you people who live in an area where there are a lot of Mountain Lions, has anyone ever hear one scream? I have heard conflicting reports about whether they can or will scream, instead of roar like a lion or leopard.

What about a bob cat? Can or will they scream?

The area I grew up in, 1940s, was very remote at the time, and there were rumors of Mountain Lions, Cougars, and what most people called them, Panthers. I don't remember anyone ever saying they saw one, but I do remember hearing something screaming, and other people heard it, also.

It was said to be a Panther, but, as I said, no one that I can remember seeing one.

I remember one time, when I was about 7 years old, my brother who was about 2, were out in the yard playing, and one cut loose very close by. My mother ran out of the house, grabbed and picked up my brother, and grabbed me by the arm and ran into the house, closing and locking the doors.

That was not the only time I heard it, but I still don't know if it was a Panther or a bob cat.

So, another question is, does a bob cat scream? Panther or bob cat, it sounds a lot like, but not exactly like, a woman being torn limb from limb, probably the scariest sound I have ever heard.

Oh, and there are mountain lions in Georgia, or there was at least one, anyway. My wife and I both saw it, sometime in the late 60s, in North Georgia.

Yes mountain lions scream, heard it myself...kind of spooky

I shot one that was screaming at my wife and I while deer hunting.

"Yes mountain lions scream, heard it myself...kind of spooky"

Then I guess the screams we heard were actually from a mountain lion.

And, you are correct...it is very spooky, especially to a young kid and the way my mom grabbed my brother and I and drug us into the house, it must be spooky to Mothers, also.

To have a khukri is to have a true survival knife. I use one exclusively when I am in the bush. About ten years ago I was teaching survival courses up north to native Canadians and was using my khukri while constructing a camp. An elder lady came over and asked to see the khukri. She looked it over and grinned at me. She said "That is not a white man's knife." I told her its story and she nodded approvingly. She also used the knife to clean fish, skin a caribou and butcheer it and then gave it back to me.

About a month later I bought a cold steel khukri and sent it with my wife to give to Christine as a gift when she went in to deliver some first aid training. Christine was pleased with the gift and told my wife I was a soundrel. In her tradition men gave knives as gifts when offering proposals. Chritine's son told me the kukri was bequeathed to him when she died so it is now a second generatioal gift.

I have a huge appreciation of the Nepalese people. Thecountry folk I knew were honest and brave and wrote the book on toughness and honour.

I have several Khukri's all of which I have been given over the years, except the Cold Steel one which I bought back inthe early 90's and its prooved to be a very usful tool. Cold steel knives are vey good. I have the Khukri, SRK and an Outdoors man Lite. The Khukri is great for quatering woodland Red Deer that I car't get the Quad to.
A mate of mine's father fought with the Gurkha's at Imphal during WW2. They were and still are tough guy's
You may find this link of interest.
http://www.nepalkukrihouse.com/Kukri-Info/12_Kukri-Making.php
Cheers,
Paul.

I have my Dad's kukri from when he was in Burma in WWII. Water buffalo horn handle and the original hard leather sheath. It has some tiny rust spots on it now, but I leave it as-is other than oiling it to keep more from showing up.

Dad had some great stories about the Ghurkas....and kukris.

I think we need to start a Gurkha Khukri thread.
I would love to hear some of those stories that your father told.
I am pleased you still have the Khukri and hope you keep it in your family. Its nice you have kept it as it was rather than trying to make it look new.
Although I think you should learn the Khukri Dance.
Hope you like it. Cheers,
Paul.

Call me a heathen, but I've never been particularly impressed with the Khukri. Its reputation is based solely on its use by the Gurkha's, and they could make a letter opener look fearsome!

I suppose the Khukri real strength is as a "jack of all trades" general utility tool, although we Westerners seem to focus on its use as a fighting knife by the Gurkha's.

I heard one in the main campground at the Grand Canyon! It was winter and there were few other campers.

Hi Pete,
Your right about the fact that most people regard it as a fighting knife but its also a practical bit of kit as well.
I got a cold steel Khukri back in the early 90's from Bisley. Its prooved to be a great tool. Its great for quatering woodland reds, making blinds, clearing branches around high seats, good for hacking through bone and cutting wood for starting fires.
I have it attached to my day bag when stalking. I suppose its one of those bit of kit, that if you have one you will love it and use it. The cold steel Khukris arn't overly expensive. They have a rubber non slip handle and they do keep an edge.

As for the Ghurkas reputation, a guy I used to work with was on exercsie with the T.A. (V the Ghurkas) just before going out to Iraq. In the night the Ghurkas came in whist they slept, past the sentry's, unzipped the sleeping bags and removed thier SA80's , when they woke up the ones that had the rifles removed had a sticker stuck to the forehead with the crossed Khukri's on!
I'll not mention which TA regiment it was , but the **** really did hit the fan over it.
Cheers,
Paul.

I love reading Capstick writing on Corbett's leopards.


Can you elaborate? I read both of Corbett's man eating tiger books, what books are you referring to?

Thank you sir.

Peter Capstick's book "Death in Silent Places" has a chapter on Corbett.....while i like reading Corbett, Capstick is one hell of a writer and its worth reading his description of Corbett's hunts.....especially since you cand find the book pretty darn cheap

I thought this was about a man eating a Leopard.

Thank you.

Corbett's The Temple Tiger is another good read.

Corbett's stuff is good. So is Capstick's. From his chapter on Corbett in Death in The Silent Places:

"The girl's leg, still warm to the touch, lay on the sun-dappled trail, blood gently oozing from just below the knee where it had been severed as though by the stroke of a sword. At the edge of a small pool a few yards away, red splintered bone and great gouts of gore stained the jungled floor of the mountainous Indian watercourse, seeping into the splayed pug marks of a tigress..."

Corbett, Bell, Stigand, and other great hunting writers of past days were not readily available when I was a young man. A lot of people give Capstick short shrift, but he was a damn fine writer and his books had a great deal to do with some of the obscure old hunting writers' works coming back into print.

Death in the Silent Places is a very good read. Nowhere near as good as Death in the Long Grass, but a good read nonetheless.

yeah i dont really care if some of the stuff Capstick wrote as first hand was actually him repeating what someone else had done, he is a damn fine story teller and probably my favorite author....Russel Annabel has the same rep as Capstick up in Alaska in that alot of his first hand accounts prolly werent but he is another fine story teller....

werent for Capstick i prolly wouldnt have read much on Africa, he fanned my interest both in African hunting and hunting down books by those he referenced in his books.....his book "African Adventurers: A Return to Silent Places" has 4 more biographies, Frederick Selous, Jim Sutherland, Johnny Boyes and Constantine "Iodine" Ionides....

for those that havent read Capsticks "Death In Silent Places" other than Corbett the other chapters are on: Colonel J.H. Patterson, WDM Bell, Sasha Siemel, P.J. Pretorious, Chauncey H. Stigand, Samuel Baker and Harry Wolhuter

his book "The Last Ivory Hunter: The Saga of Wally Johnson" is good to, the guy hunted lion with a Winchester 94 in 30-30