A team of forest officials from Nalgonda clicked pictures of animal footprints, suspected to be those of a wild cat, following a petition by triple-riding youths here on Wednesday.
Konda Mahesh, a resident of Kanagal, who was riding the motorcycle on his way from Ammuguda to Kanagal, claimed that he and his two friends saw a tiger cross the road near Bommepally stage. They sped away from the place and approached sub-inspector Satish Reddy. They said the sighting was at about 6 a.m.
The police soon passed on the information to Nalgonda Forest Divisional Officer and a team reached the site by 7.30 a.m., to ascertain the situation.
According to Forest Section Officer Nagaiah and Beat Officer Sowjanya, the description given by the youths portray a leopard. However, the many footprints near the Bommepally stage suggest the animal could be a hyena, they said.
“This place has never seen such wild cats. We have collected and submitted enough field material to the Range and District Forest Officer, who would confirm of the sighting soon,” Mr. Nagaiah said.
Meanwhile, Forest and police officials said the surrounding villages were alerted of a suspected wild animal to be loitering in the region, and advised residents to keep indoors during night and travel in groups in the day.
