Officials from the Karnataka state Forest Department managed to successfully capture a leopard which had been troubling residents of an Udupi village. After trapping the animal on Friday, they released it back into the wild.
The leopard was caught at Heskethur village in Kundapur taluk in Udupi district.
The leopard, a 6-year-old male, was caught and released into the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary. According to reports, the leopard had strayed into the cattle shed of a resident who had managed to chase it away, three days back. On Thursday, a herd of goats was attacked by the leopard and two days ago, a calf was attacked.’
Officials from the Forest Department had set up a trap in order to lure the leopard. They had set up a cage with a dog as the bait (placed in a separate compartment). Prabhakar Kulal, Kundapur Range, Range Forest Officer, told the Hindu that there was a possibility of more leopards being spotted in the area.
He added that in early March, another leopard had been trapped after residents of a village complained of a goat being attacked by the animal. Officials had sprung into action to capture the creature that time as well. At the time, there were reportedly several complaints about the wild animal roaming in the locality. At least 10 calves were attacked and eaten by leopards in the villages of Kedur, Heskethur, Japti and Korgi over a period of two months.
Residents also stated that they had seen leopards wandering freely around the area, particularly in certain shrubs of the region.
In January, a leopard was sighted in Bengaluru’s ITC factory campus in Yelahanka. It was later captured and taken to Bannerghatta National Park. According to senior officials, the leopard which was five years old, may have strayed into the campus on seeing the greenery, after having got lost.Officials from the Karnataka state Forest Department managed to successfully capture a leopard which had been troubling residents of an Udupi village. After trapping the animal on Friday, they released it back into the wild.