COIMBATORE: In yet another shocking case of human–wildlife conflict in the Anamalai hill region, a five-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in Valparai of Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore district on Saturday, police officials said.
The victim, Saiful, was the son of a migrant Assamese worker employed in a Valparai tea estate.
According to the Police and Forest Department officials, the child was playing in front of the labour quarters at Ayyarpadi when the leopard suddenly emerged from the nearby tea bushes, grabbed him, and disappeared into the estate interior.
After frantic searches by estate workers and forest teams, Saiful's body was found deep inside the plantation, bearing clear signs of a leopard attack.
This is the third child to be killed by a leopard in Valparai in the last eight months, raising alarm among residents and prompting calls for stronger protective measures in tea estates bordering forest areas.
On August 11, 2025, eight-year-old Noorjil Haq, the son of Assam native Sarafat Ali, was killed in a gruesome leopard attack at Waverly Estate in Kavarakallu, around 30 km from the Kerala–Tamil Nadu border.
The boy had been playing near his home when the leopard dragged him into the dense tea plantation.
His body was later recovered with severe disfigurement, as the animal had partially consumed him.
Forest teams rushed to the spot, but the leopard escaped upon hearing the commotion.
Barely weeks earlier, on June 22, 2025, four-year-old Roshini, the daughter of a migrant couple from Jharkhand, was mauled and dragged away by a leopard at Pachamalai near Valparai.
Though search operations were immediately launched, the child could not be located on the first day.
Her body parts were found only after the Forest Department deployed additional personnel and intensified their search efforts on June 23 morning.
The recurring attacks have created a climate of fear among Valparai's plantation communities, many of whom are migrant labourers living in close proximity to forested landscapes.
Residents say the fragmented patches of dense bushes, poor lighting, and lack of fencing around estate quarters make children particularly vulnerable.
Forest officials have increased patrolling and installed additional camera traps in the region.
They have urged residents to keep children indoors after dusk and to report any leopard sightings immediately.
With yet another young life lost, demands for a long-term, coordinated wildlife conflict mitigation plan in Valparai have grown louder than ever.