[ENVIRONMENT ★]
LEOPARD ATTACKS SIX PEOPLE AT INDIAN SCHOOL
(P1) A male LEOPARD which entered a school in the Indian city of Bangalore injured six people who were trying to capture it.
(P2) A scientist and a FORESTER were among those MAULED during the near 10-hour long effort to CORNER the dangerous animal on Sunday.
(P3) The leopard, which entered the GROUNDS of the Vibgyor International Echool, was eventually TRANQUILIZED and released.
(P4) A recent wildlife CENSUS ESTIMATED that India has a leopard population of between 12,000 and 14,000.
(P5) The eight-year-old male leopard was spotted walking inside the school grounds in the Kundalahalli area.
(P6) Footage on the school’s security cameras showed it attacking a man near a swimming pool.
(P7) CONSERVATION scientist Sanjay Gubbi and forest department employee Benny Maurius were injured when they tried to corner the animal and tranquilize him, reports say.
(P8) “It was a long struggle to capture the leopard. It took some time for the tranquilizers to TAKE EFFECT,” senior police official S Boralingaiah told reporters.
(P9) Wildlife official Ravi Ralph told the BBC Hindi’s Imran Qureshi that the leopard possibly entered the school from a nearby forest.
(P10) The captured animal has been moved to a national park and the six injured people, including a cameraperson of a TV channel, have been treated for minor injuries.
(P11) Leopards and other big cats have been known to enter populated areas in India, and scientists have warned that such CONFRONTATIONS may increase as humans ENCROACH ON animal HABITATS.
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SOURCE: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-35519414
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Do large wild animals ever enter your town from wild areas nearby?
- Are you afraid of wild animals? What would you do if you were confronted by one?
- In situations like these, the animal is often killed instead of tranquilized. Is that fair?
- Large cats are scary, but snakes are more dangerous to people. Why is that true?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Take effect
- Encroach on
