Leopard scare at SV Veterinary university campus in Tirupati
The big cat was seen unsuccessfully trying to attack two dogs near the varsity’s administrative building
TIRUPATI: Students and staff of SV Veterinary University in Tirupati are living in fear of a leopard that showed up in the university premises’s CCTV camera Sunday night.
The CCTV footage was noticed only on Wednesday. It showed the leopard strolling onto the varsity campus and chasing a pack of stray dogs. The big cat was seen unsuccessfully trying to attack two dogs near the varsity’s administrative building.
While one of the two dogs managed to run away, the other was chased by the leopard for a distance. It too gave a slip to the big cat. The leopard was later seen charging at another canine and then exiting from the scene. The big cat remains at large now.
Reserve forest sub-division in-charge Srinivasa Rao told the media that special teams have been deployed to scare away the big cat. “Stray dogs used to move around the hostel premises for leftovers. As the area is close to the forest, it is natural for leopards to go after their favourite prey, the dogs,” he reasoned.
Rao maintained that leopards usually do not attack humans. “We will initiate steps to capture the animal with trap cages if it is judged to be a man-eater or has a history of attacking humans. Forest officials will be patrolling the campus for the next few days.”
The forest department advised the university students and staff to stop dumping of food-waste on the campus as this would lure dogs and leopards would follow. It would be advisable for the university students and staff to stay indoors from 7pm to 7am, the forest department said.