Bhopal, Oct 20 (IANS): A 50-year-old woman was mauled to death by a leopard in Madhya Pradesh's Seoni district, a forest official said on Wednesday.

This was the third leopard killing in the district in one and a half months.

According to the forest official, the incident occured on Tuesday when the woman along with others was busy in cutting paddy in a field in Ugli area of Seoni.

"While the woman was busy in cutting paddy, she was, all of a sudden, attacked by the leopard and was mauled to death. Others, who were also in the field, however, managed to escape from wild animal's attack and raised an alarm," the official said.

Forest officials said that four cages have been set up in the area to trap the animal.

On October 16, a 16-year-old was killed by a leopard in Kanhiwada forest area in the district, while on September 15, a woman was attacked and killed by a leopard in another village of Seoni.

District authorities have written to the forest headquarters to declare this leopard a 'man-eater'.

Following the attack, the Forest Department has advised villagers to stay away from areas where such incidents have occured and remain alert till the animal is captured.