TIRUPATI: Officials of Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) in Tirupati urged students and staff to not venture out of their hostel rooms and staff quarters after 7 pm as a leopard has been on the prowl in the vicinity. Officials reported that the wild cat was moving near the Vice-Chancellor’s building.
CCTV cameras captured the leopard chasing dogs in the varsity premises late on Sunday, SVVU Registrar A Ravi said, adding, “We have alerted the students through WhatsApp and will increase vigilance in the night. We have been using animal scare guns to drive the leopard into the forest. Forest officials have also been informed.”
A team of forest officials led by Reserve Forest Sub-Divisional In-charge Srinivas Rao inquired about the situation on Wednesday.Stating that leopards frequented the area to hunt dogs, Rao reasoned that the inmates of the hostel dump their leftovers in the campus, which has been attracting stray dogs into the premises. “Leopards like dog meat and so they have been entering the campus. We will arrange cages to capture the wild cat after obtaining permissions from higher officials,” the forest officer said.
These leopards usually do not attack human beings, Rao said and added that they will take action and prevent leopards from entering the campus. Similar instances of leopards wandering in the university premises have been reported in the past, but no human being has ever been attacked.