Lakhimpur Kheri, March 16 -- A leopard attacked a farmer at his farmhouse in Rannagar village under the north Nighasan range of the buffer zone of Dudhwa National Park on Sunday afternoon. The farmer, identified as Rajan Sharma, suffered minor injuries on his left hand during the attack. He was fortunate to escape with only small injuries. According to local residents, the leopard ran towards a fodder room built near the main house when villagers rushed to the spot and tried to chase it away. The animal then hid inside the room. Soon, a large number of villagers gathered around the fodder room. The crowd left the leopard frightened and forced it to remain inside the room for several hours. Forest range officer Bhupendra Singh reached the spot along with his staff. He requested villagers not to gather around the room to avoid any possible danger. A forest official from the Dudhwa buffer zone said that the rescue operation would begin at dusk when the crowd becomes smaller. Officials have placed a cage near the room so that the leopard may move inside it safely.Till the last report, forest officials were keeping a close watch and waiting for the leopard either to enter the cage or escape safely towards the nearby forests of Dudhwa National Park. Kirti Chaudhary, deputy director of the Dudhwa buffer zone, confirmed that the animal hiding inside the fodder room is a leopard. She said efforts are being made to rescue the big cat safely and further action will be decided after the rescue. Forest officials also said that leopard movements have been reported in the Rannagar area for a long time. On October 17, 2025, a six-year-old male leopard was captured alive from the same area after it killed an eight-year-old girl, Preet Kaur. Officials added that the area lies close to the forests of Dudhwa National Park and has large stretches of sugarcane fields, which often attract big cats. They said forest teams are closely monitoring the movement of leopards in the region....