Bhadu Tharu, 46, from ward 11 of Barbardiya Municipality, was injured on Tuesday when a leopard attacked him while he was harvesting paddy in his field. He suffered head injuries in the incident.

Last Saturday, 40-year-old Kiran Lodh of Ratnapur in ward 10 of Gulariya Municipality was also injured when a leopard attacked her during paddy harvesting. A day earlier, 45-year-old Juna Chaudhary of ward 10 of Barbardiya Municipality was hurt in a similar attack.

Leopard attacks on people and livestock have become frequent in and around Gulariya of late. According to the Division Forest Office, two women have been killed in separate incidents this fiscal year (since mid-July) so far. Last year, leopards had killed two girls in the area.

Local residents say leopards have become more active around settlements. “A leopard dragged away a dog from my yard around 7 pm last week,” said Annu BK of Sarjunadi Tapara in ward 8 of Gulariya Municipality. “It has become difficult to keep children safe.”

Locals say they fear going to the fields during harvest season. “The leopard keeps entering the village and attacking people, but the authorities seem indifferent,” said a resident. “Division Forest Office chief Bijay Raj Subedi is rarely available, and calls to his office go unanswered as his phone is usually handled by the security team.”

Data from the Division Forest Office show that eight people have been killed in leopard attacks in Bardiya over the past five years. In the fiscal year 2021-22, two people were killed and two were injured, while in 2024-25, four died and 13 were injured. This fiscal year alone, two women have been killed and four others injured.

Ajit Tumbahangphe, chief of the Bardiya Conservation Programme (BCP) of the National Trust for Nature Conservation, said leopards are entering human settlements in search of food. “A lack of prey in forest areas has driven them closer to villages,” he said. “When people are bent over working in the fields, leopards may mistake them for prey. Awareness campaigns are urgently needed in the affected areas.”

Wildlife experts say leopards are increasingly venturing into settlements due to the dwindling number of natural prey in the forest, which forces them to hunt easy targets like dogs, livestock, and even humans.