Hyderabad: A camera trap image collected from the Miyapur Metro Rail depot area confirmed that it was a jungle cat, according to Forest department officials here on Tuesday.
This brought a major relief for the forest and police departments as it was earlier suspected that it was a leopard. A search was launched on Friday night after a short video clip showing what officials said an animal that looked like a leopard was spotted near the station.
While an immediate search did not find any pug marks, on Saturday a continuing search revealed a set of pug marks which were small, just about 3.5 cm in length which can only be that of a jungle cat. They also said fresh scat of the animal was collected from the Metro Rail depot area and sent to ICMR-CCMB for correct identification through DNA testing.
As the results could take up to two weeks, officials installed camera traps in the scrub area of the depot next to the station to see if the animal can be captured on camera. An image captured in the camera confirmed that it was a jungle cat, according to A. Shankaran, retired Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) and OSD (Wildlife).
A jungle cat is no threat to people and is very versatile and can survive feeding on rats, bandicoots, birds. It can find food anywhere.
