Residents of a rural farming village have begun wearing spiked metal collars to protect their necks after a series of fatal leopard attacks.
Villagers in Pimparkhed, in the Pune District of India, said they turned to the collars after three fatal leopard attacks happened in just 30 days, local media reported on 10th November.
Most residents of Pimparkhed work in farming and dairy activities, and local reports said the surrounding sugarcane fields made the area a frequent leopard hideout.
Images show men and women from the village wearing the thick collars to protect their necks when working outdoors.
The collars are also fitted with ghungroo bells intended to make noise that could scare leopards away.
The desperate villagers adopted the idea from the spiked collars historically used by shepherds in Europe to protect their dogs from wolves and foxes.
Arjun Mane, a resident of Pimparkhed, said: “We were given some guidelines by the police and forest department about not going out alone or never leaving children alone.
“We looked something up on the internet and decided to try these spike-up collars once. Leopards attack the neck, and we are protecting it. If this works, then it will save many lives of our villagers.”
Other residents from neighbouring villages recently held a protest demanding more effective measures against the fatal attacks, including leopard relocation, sterilisation, and shoot-on-sight orders.
Officials later announced funding for 1,200 cages and traps, as well as AI-based surveillance to reduce attacks.
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below. Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: newsX
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