Leopard kills meditating Indian monk

A monk died in a leopard attack while meditating under a tree the Indian state of Maharashtra on Wednesday, BBC News reported.

Rahul Walke had been "meditating under a tree" in the Tadoba forest, which is a protected tiger reserve, officials told PTI.

Walke was part of a nearby Buddhist temple but had walked far away from the premises to find a quiet spot to meditate.

A monk from the temple saw the animal attacking Walke when he was bringing him food and added that he left the scene to find help but when he returned with others, Walke was already dead.

Forest officials say they had warned the monks against going too far inside the reserve.

"I would like to tell everyone not to go inside the forest," GP Narawane, a forest official, told BBC Marathi. The forest official said they were trying to catch the leopard.

"We have set up two cages and a camera trap, and we will try to tranquilise the animal," Narawane said.

State government officials said they will give Walke's family INR1.2m.

The Tadoba reserve is home to an estimated 88 tigers. It is also home to a large variety of other animals, including leopards, sloth bears, hyenas and honey badgers.

This story originally appeared on BBC News.