Leopard kills 9-year-old Egyptian girl after escaping wildlife farm

The leopard was killed by police after it mauled the little girl. Photo / 123rf

A leopard has reportedly killed a nine-year-old girl in Egypt after escaping from a wildlife farm in a village south of Cairo.

The little girl, Amany Mohamed Fadeel, was walking home carrying her baby sister when the leopard attacked her in the village of Kafr Hamid.

The infant was unharmed but Amany died on the way to hospital after suffering wounds to her neck, according to al-Arabiya.

Other villagers chased the leopard away from their homes and the cat was eventually killed by a police marksman.

The owner of the farm was arrested after Amany's death and prosecutors are looking into whether he can face charges.

The farmer reportedly claimed that the little girl wandered onto his land and was killed after encountering the leopard on his farm.

Egyptian media reported that this was not the first time that dangerous animals had escaped from the farm.

Last year a hyena and a tiger got loose but were recaptured before anyone could be hurt.

Villagers said the farm had a license to raise animals as pets but that the farmer had diverted into bigger and more dangerous creatures in the hopes of selling them to zoos.

After the killing a mob of villagers tried to break into the farm to kill the remaining animals but they were they were forced away by police.

The leopard is believed to have escaped several days before the killing on Sunday and residents said they had seen the animal prowling at the edges of their village in the Giza district.

Videos posted online showed a crowd of children cheering and playing with the leopard's corpse after it had been killed by police.