Hyderabad: A leopard which killed and partly devoured a calf on Friday night came back to the spot on Saturday night to feed on its kill. This time, the leopard was photographed by a camera trap that was installed by the forest officials at the spot.
The leopard’s prowl continues to keep the villagers residing in the hamlets of the four Reserve Forest (RF) blocks comprising 6,000 hectares, in Kadthal RF, Yacharam RF, Mudwin RF, and Mudhivennu RF, 50 km away from the city, in the Ranga Reddy district, on the edge.
The feline attacked two calves on Friday night — one at Serikonda near Mudwin RF and the other at Gangumalla Thanda near Kadthal RF.
The suspicions about more than one leopard being on the move still have to be addressed.
The leopard had apparently eaten a small portion of the flesh and left the remaining at the site.
It returned to the same spot on Saturday night to feed on its prey. Officials have found its pug marks near the carcass of the animal. Amangal Forest Divisional Officer (FDO), Mr M. Janakiram said, “The leopard attacked its prey on Friday night and we found out about the attack on Saturday morning. We then installed two camera traps near its prey. As we were expecting, it came back to feed on its prey and got captured on the camera.”
Mr M. Janakiram further added, “We have sent the pug marks for examination to confirm that we are dealing with only one leopard. Earlier this month as well, we had found pug marks of a leopard near the carcass of its prey, and examination revealed that it was a female leopard. Our plan is to compare the two to come to a conclusion.”
Apart from the three trap cages that are already present at the site, the forest department officials have ordered another two to trap and confine the feline. This happens to be the leopard’s eighth attack.
