A farmer in Karuga village, Gatundu North, is counting huge losses after a leopard attacked and injured her eight sheep and goats.
Ruth Wambui said the wild animal sneaked into her pen and injured her flock leaving two in critical condition.
She was woken up by a commotion in the pen and restless bleating of the livestock.
"My son was also woken by the commotion. We went to check what was wrong and we were frightened after a huge wild animal jumped from the pen. It ran off to the coffee farm but we still heard it roaring," she said.
They rescued six of the eight animals while two suffered severe injuries.
Wambui earns a living from goat milk as well as selling mature livestock. She decried the loss of her source of income and expressed fear she might slide into poverty.
The farmer called on the Kenya Wildlife Service to hunt the wild animal and compensate her for the losses.
A few months ago she lost two sheep to a predator, she said.
Residents are worried that the killer animal might attack their children.
"We want the relevant authorities and especially KWS to set traps in this village to capture the wild animal before it attacks and injures or kills us or our children," Wambui said.
Her son Moses Njoroge described the wild animal as a huge beast capable of attacking humans.
"I flashed a torch and saw it. It was huge and its roars were scary. We are pleading for intervention by the authorities before this animal attacks us again," he said.
The residents of Karuga village also raised the alarm over increasing attacks by monkeys in their farms. The apes have destroyed their crops including maize, avocados, macadamia and bananas.
David Muiruri said many farmers in the area received little or no harvest after their farms were invaded by the monkeys.
"These monkeys have destroyed every crop in our farms. Right now they are destroying avocados, which we rely on to generate income. We are tired of farming for these primates and we want KWS to camp here and move them to game reserves," Muiruri said.
He also called on national government administration officers to oversee clearing of bushes in the village where the wild animals hide.
