With a leopard killing a calf in Kongarpalayam village, Erode district, the Forest Department has now placed camera traps to track the movement of the wild animal.
At 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 22, a leopard killed the calf and dragged its carcass onto a nearby farmland. The cattle owner, K. Ramasamy of Samanang Kattu Thottam alerted the T.N. Palayam Forest Range office in Sathyamangalam Division.
A team from the range office inspected the spot and found the pug marks of a leopard. Village residents gathered there and said that frequent incidents of cattle being killed by a leopard were causing panic. They wanted cages to be placed to trap the animal.
On the evening of Sunday, July 23, 2023 camera traps were placed in the area.
N. Mariyappan, Range Officer, told the residents that permission has been sought to capture the leopard, and permission is expected by Tuesday, July 25, 2023. He asked the local residents to remain cautious, and not venture near farmlands during the night, and also asked them keep their cattle safe. He told them Forest Department staff were patrolling the area, and asked the people to cooperate with the department.
The leopard had hidden the half-eaten carcass of the calf inside a fodder-grown plot of land that is about 200 metres from the farmland.
Officials assured village residents that they would place five more camera traps in the locality.
