A two-year-old boy has been mauled to death by a leopard in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
The boy was the son of one of the staff members at the park.
In a statement, the park confirmed the attack had taken place in staff living quarters at around 8pm (local time) on Wednesday.
Family members rushed the toddler to hospital but he was pronounced dead on arrival.
The park said attacks were “very rare,” but due to interactions with tourists and staff some of the animals can get “habituated to people and lose their fear”.
Park rangers tracked the leopard down and shot it to “remove the danger of another person falling victim”.
Ike Phaahla from Kruger National Park told the BBC a leopard would be “very brave” to attack a fully grown adult but might “take a chance with a child between two to six years old.”
The Chief Executive Officer of South African National Parks, Fundisile Mketeni offered "prayers and thoughts" to the child's family.
"This is the risk we live with on a daily basis as we help conserve our species for the benefit of all," he said.
