Bizarre Tale of Leopard Eaters in Assam!

Real life often springs up surprises stranger than fiction. Sounds bizarre, but true that villagers of a nondescript village in Assam, the northeastern state of India, have not only killed a full-grown leopard but also devoured its meat.

By Asif Ibrahim

This incident is enough to send chill down one’s spines. Local villagers of Morioni in Jorhat district of Assam, the northeastern state of India (around 300 km from capital city of Guwahati) in an act reminiscent of pre-historic days, not only slaughtered a leopard but they also devoured its meat.

The only fault of the leopard was that it had ventured into human settlement obviously in search of food faced by acute shortage of natural habitat. The leopard that had come out of its safe haven in the wild in search of soft targets like domestic cow or a goat got panicked at the sight of human beings. In an act of frenzy and self-defense, it attacked the villagers, injuring five of them.

But what followed was a sheer show of inhumanity on the part of sane and social human beings. The infuriated locals chased the hapless animal with crude and indigenous weapons till life gave away for this leopard.

But the people were not contended with this. These people butchered the dead leopard and distributed the meat to savor at home. What remained after this savage act was just a piece of its skin strewn on to the paddy fields.

Worse - there was no sign of any remorse among these villagers. Ironically also, forest officials feigned ignorance of the whole incident when the news spread like wildfire.

It is time we, the so-called civilized beings, take time off to give a thought on such incidents that defy all logic and civility of this age of modernization.