A terrifying encounter unfolded in the early hours of Saturday in the Veerankudy tribal settlement in Malakkappara, Thrissur district, when a leopard entered a temporary hut and dragged away a four-year-old boy, Rahul, as his family slept.
In a courageous act, the boy&rsquo;s father, identified as Baby, chased after the leopard and hurled a stone at it, forcing the animal to release the child and flee back into the forest. Rahul suffered serious head injuries and was initially treated at Malakkappara before being shifted to Chalakkudy Taluk Hospital. He was later moved to the Government Medical College Hospital in Thrissur for emergency surgery.
Remarkably, the family's two-year-old daughter was sleeping beside Rahul during the attack but remained unharmed. Local forest officials reported that the leopard returned to the area shortly after the incident.
Thrissur Collector Arjun Pandian visited the family and assured government support.
This incident adds to a growing list of leopard attacks in Kerala&rsquo;s forest-adjacent regions. In October 2024, a six-year-old girl was killed in Valparai, while in Kasaragod, a male leopard was captured after terrorising villages. Malakkappara itself saw a similar incident in April 2023 when a five-year-old boy was injured.
In response to rising human-wildlife conflict, the Kerala Forest Department has rolled out a 10-point action plan. This includes the formation of Rapid Response Teams and real-time monitoring of wildlife movements. The state government has officially designated human-wildlife conflict as a "State Specific Disaster," enabling quicker relief and support for affected communities.
Additionally, efforts are underway to resettle 47 tribal families from the high-risk Malakkappara region to improve their safety. [Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by the Benefit News editorial team and is published directly from the IANS news feed]

Kerala Dad Saves Son from Leopard in Brave Rescue

Father chases leopard to save 4-year-old in Kerala’s Thrissur, boy undergoes surgery

Kerala Dad Saves Son from Leopard in Brave Rescue

Father chases leopard to save 4-year-old in Kerala’s Thrissur, boy undergoes surgery

August 2, 2025 | 17:47 IST