Toddler snatched, eaten by leopard at safari park

The leopard is currently being hunted so it can be moved away from human settlements. Photo / Queen Elizabeth National Park

Ugandan authorities are hunting for a leopard in Queen Elizabeth National park after it snatched and ate a ranger's 3-year-old son.

The toddler had been left in the care of a nanny at the unfenced staff quarters of a safari lodge in the park, when he was taken by the leopard on Friday night.

Wildlife authority spokesman Bashir Hangi said the child had followed the nanny outside, the Telegraph reported.

"The maid was not aware the child followed her. She heard the kid scream for help, she intervened but it was too late. The leopard had vanished with it in the bush and a search was mounted until we got the skull the next day," he said.

"The hunt is on with the intention of capturing the leopard and removing it from the wild because once it has eaten human flesh, the temptations are high to eat another human being, it becomes dangerous," he added.

Queen Elizabeth is Uganda's most-visited national park. Tourists flock to watch leopards roam the Mweya Peninsula, which lies beside Lake Edward.

The park also hosts African buffalo, Nile crocodiles, lions and chimpanzees.

The attack happened in the Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. Photo / Queen Elizabeth National Park

The attack comes just a week after a British safari park owner was attacked by a lion in South Africa.

Mike Hodge, 71, suffered a broken jaw after he was mauled in Marakele Animal Sanctuary in Thabazimbi.

Hodge had been showing visitors around the park when the big cat charged him and dragged him into bushes.

Video footage showed terrified tourists screaming for help as the lion mauled its victim.

Keepers eventually killed the 10-year-old lion, named Samba, and Hodge was taken to hospital.

Two years ago, in South Africa, a year a 6-year-old boy was snatched by a leopard at Kruger National park, but the youngster escaped with his life.

Kellan Denny was playing with his brother on a wall when the leopard sank its teeth into his shoulder and dragged him away.

However, the leopard let go of the traumatised boy, allowing his father to rush in and carry him to safety.

The incident was the first of its kind in 40 years, according to a spokesman for Kruger National Park.