BELAGAVI: A big cat, suspected to be a leopard, strayed into Durganagar in Khanapur town about 25 km from Belagavi, creating panic among residents on Wednesday morning.
According to sources, some farmers spotted the carnivore in their field behind Police Training School around 9 am. They informed the school’s instructors as well as the residents around, who then informed the Forest Department. The farmers were not sure whether the big cat was a tiger or a leopard.
Range Forest Officer (RFO) S S Ningani and team launched a search operation covering a radius of about 15 km.
The team had three gunmen in case of emergency.
During the search, the officials traced fresh pug marks of a big cat on the bank of a stream, about 1 km away from the spot where it was spotted earlier. Forest
Department officials said the animal is a ‘young leopard’. Some evidence indicated that the ‘two-and-a-half-year-old leopard’ returned to the jungle, after which the operation was stopped.
Speaking to Express, RFO Ningane suggested that the big cat must have strayed in search of food. He said leopards are very fond of dogs and this might be the reason it entered Durganagar. The Department urged Durganagar residents to remain alert for a few days.
The authorities, who suspect that the big cat might return to that area in search of food, have installed camera traps covering the identified spots. A team has been deputed to the area on round-the-clock duty as an precautionary measure.