Thrissur, Aug 2 : A four-year-old boy was rescued after a leopard attacked him in the Veerankudy tribal settlement of Malakkappara, in Kerala's Trissur district in the wee hours on Saturday.

The child's father, Baby, bravely intervened, confronting the leopard to save his son, Rahul, who suffered serious injuries to his head.

The attack occurred around 2.15 a.m. on Saturday, while they were sleeping in their temporary hut.

The leopard entered the shelter and dragged the child away, according to local reports. The father's quick thinking and courage in pursuing the animal with a stone forced it to retreat into the forest.

Rahul was initially rushed to a hospital in Malakkappara, and after first aid, was taken to Chalakkudy Taluk Hospital. Since the injury was serious, he was taken to the Government Medical College Hospital, Thrissur, for surgery.

Interestingly, the couple's two-year-old daughter was also sleeping by them when the leopard entered the hut and dragged away Rahul.

Forest officials claimed that the leopard reached near the hut again after the attack on the boy.

Trissur Collector Arjun Pandian visited the family to assure them of the government's support.

This is the latest in a series of similar attacks in the state, particularly in areas bordering dense forests and plantations.

In October 2024, a six-year-old girl was killed by a leopard in the Valparai tea estate near the Kerala-Tamil Nadu border. That same year, a male leopard was trapped by forest officials after terrorising villages in Kasaragod's Kolathur in northern Kerala, where it had been preying on pets and livestock.

Earlier, in April 2023, a five-year-old boy was injured in a leopard attack at Malakkappara itself.

The rising number of incidents, including fatal attacks, has created a sense of fear among residents, who are demanding concrete action from authorities.

In response to the crisis, the Kerala Forest Department has initiated a 10-point action plan, including the formation of Rapid Response Teams and the implementation of a real-time monitoring system to track animal movements.

The government has also declared human-wildlife conflict a "State Specific Disaster," a move that is expected to facilitate faster administrative responses and compensation for victims.

The ongoing resettlement of 47 tribal families in Malakkappara, an area prone to such attacks, is another step towards mitigating the long-standing safety concerns of these vulnerable communities.

/IANS