TIRUPATI: A leopard attempted to attack a young motorcyclist on Alipiri Zoo Park Road in Tirupati on Friday, narrowly avoiding a potentially fatal encounter.
The incident occurred while the biker was riding at speed. The leopard suddenly leapt at him but lost its footing due to the motorcycle’s momentum and fell. A trailing car’s dashcam recorded the entire episode. Just four hours later, a leopard was sighted again near Aravind Eye Hospital, hiding in the forest bushes.
These incidents follow over five leopard sightings in the past two weeks along the Tirupati forest stretch beneath the Tirumala hills. Two additional sightings occurred near Annamayya Bhavan in Tirumala during the same period.
The repeated sightings have alarmed commuters, especially two-wheeler riders, who now fear using the SV Zoo Park Road bordering dense forest areas. Tirupati Forest Range Officer Sudharshan Reddy said the department has deployed additional staff to monitor leopard movements and catch the animal at the earliest. “We have placed two cages to trap leopards,” he told TNIE.