Reports About Human-Eating Leopard Unconfirmed

A numbr of media reported the tragic death of an 18-year-old woman in the Lerik  region of southern Azerbaijan; she allegedly was torn apart by a leopard.

Detailed injuries were noted. In particular, reports claimed that a leopard had eaten arms and  part of  her leg. No other details were given. There were no witnesses.

Law enforcement agencies and local authorities did not comment on the reports.

Late in the evening of March 27, representatives of the Lerik region denied reports of the

death of the woman. Later, there were reports that the woman was bitten by a wolf, not a leopard.

On March 28, a source in the  Interior Ministry denied the reports about a woman being killed by a leopard. "This fact was not  fixed, and there was not a girl with this name in the region,"  according to the press service of the Interior Ministry.

There are no confirmed reports of leopards attacking people in Azerbaijan. There are only 15-18 leopards living in the Talysh Mountains. This rare animal is under state protection and zoologists have been monitoring the animals for years, to guard against poachers. Several years ago, one leopard was shot in the Talysh Mountains.  -02B16-