TIRUPATI: A leopard triggered panic on the Sri Venkateswara University (SVU) campus after it attempted to break into a chicken cage in the staff quarters late night on Tuesday.
The animal, which has been frequently sighted for the past two months, once again entered the residential zone, heightening safety concerns among students and staff. Sources said the leopard jumped over the compound wall and entered the non-teaching staff quarters, where an employee had kept two chickens in an iron cage. CCTV cameras captured the footage of it trying to break open the cage, but it failed.
SVU officials filed a complaint with the Tirupati Forest Range Office. Forest personnel have placed four cages in the forested area behind the university hostels and the Vedic University campus to trap the leopard. Repeated sightings in recent weeks have caused widespread fear, with students and faculties avoiding stepping out after 6 pm. SVU security teams and forest officials continue patrolling on the campus.
Authorities said they have not yet been able to trap the leopard but are monitoring the situation and hope to capture it soon and relocate it.