Indiana woman shoots and kills a - wait; what? - a leopard prowling in her backyard

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Indiana Woman Shoots and Kills Leopard Prowling in Her Backyard. (gawker.com)
Last Thursday, a woman in Charlestown, Indiana and her boyfriend stayed up all night, armed with a rifle, to hunt down whatever it was that had been attacking small animals in her neighborhood.

After spotting and shooting a creature prowling in the shadows by the woman's pool, they were shocked to find that they'd just killed a leopard, an animal that's not native to North America, much less Indiana.
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Officials at the Indiana Department of Natural Resources confirmed that a leopard had been found on the woman's property. Neighbor Donna Duke said the woman was worried about a recent streak of attacks against cats and dogs in the neighborhood.
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The woman contacted a local wildlife official, who told her that the attacks were probably from a bobcat.

“But it was not a bobcat,” Duke said, noting that the leopard let out a “horrible squeal” after it was shot.
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more, with links and a picture, at link above
 
You never know what is out there when things go bump in the night
 
Aww. I hate that this ended in the leopard's death. That is a beautiful animal.
 
Breaks my heart that such a beautiful creature is dead. It concerns me that they shot it when they had no idea what they were shooting.
 
Oh my Gosh! What a beautiful animal...so sad it had to die by a human! It had to be someone's pet and must have gotten out. Why oh why do people think that keeping wild animals is a good idea? RIP beautiful baby leopard!
 
You've all said it, what a gorgeous creature. It also has me concerned that someone is just shooting out there, even if it was a bobcat, this is nature, don't let the cats be outside if you're so worried about them.
 
I'm sorry the leopard was destroyed, but according to one documentary I saw, leopards are the #2 killers of humans worldwide (after crocodiles and not counting mosquitos).

Quick on the trigger or not, this was a public service.
 
Leopard attacks are pretty common in India.
 
Leopard attacks are pretty common in India.

And throughout Southeast Asia. I assume that's why the leopard ranked ahead of the hippopotamus, which kills more people in Africa.

The doc was an National Geographic Wild program that lists animals according to various criteria. It's called Ultimate Animal Countdown.

I was surprised the leopard ranked so high, since as big cats go, they are relatively rare. But I think Kimberly is right: the territorial range of leopards is much, much wider than that of lions or tigers.

(FWIW I added the "mosquito" exception. Malaria kills 655,000 people each year. I think the program left mosquitos out because they had already covered "killer bees".)
 
There was another documentary that was about some type of big cats being seen in some state, and some thought it wasn't true or just a big tomcat. I believe it was thought to be cougar. This leopard was very pretty. Too bad it couldn't have been taken safely for all.
 
I'm thinking some knucklehead smuggled it into the country for a pet and then released it when it got to be too much to handle. If that's the case, I hope they're found and prosecuted.
 
I'm sorry the leopard was destroyed, but according to one documentary I saw, leopards are the #2 killers of humans worldwide (after crocodiles and not counting mosquitos).

Quick on the trigger or not, this was a public service.

Uhhh....aside from possibly mosquitos I can guarantee you that the top predator killing humans walks on two legs.

I agree with others -- it is crazy that the woman shot the animal without even knowing what she was shooting at. If it were breaking into her house I could understand but in her back yard? She sounds like a nut.
 
Good grief, people, a least know what you're shooting at before you fire... We can all at least agree on that!

Poor leopard, such a beautiful animal. I agree that whoever is responsible for bringing it here and then letting it loose should be found. :furious:
 
In the United States, the biggest killer of humans (excluding disease organisms and other humans) are deer because of the traffic accidents they cause (#2 is from dog attacks).

I would only shoot a leopard to save another life and I would even have some remorse about that.
 
first rule of responsible gun ownership, know your target and make sure you see it clearly and for certain. I'm not downplaying the danger of having a leopard in your yard by any means, I just wish the woman was more responsible in her approach. This could have been anything, someone's pet dog, or even a child in her bushes for pete sake!
 
In the United States, the biggest killer of humans (excluding disease organisms and other humans) are deer because of the traffic accidents they cause (#2 is from dog attacks).

To clarify, dogs are #2 as a specific species but, as a group, bees and their relatives (wasps and hornets), are #2 principally due to allergic reactions to their stings.
 

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