DHARMAPURI: Nearly 12 days after a leopard was sighted in Palacode, the forest department has set up traps in the route frequented by the animal as part of efforts to capture it alive. A farmer in the town noticed that chicken in his farm were preyed upon and spotted the leopard while checking CCTV footage, and alerted the forest department.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, Murugan, a farmer from Palacode said, "We have been advised by the forest department to stay indoors and to not venture out after dark as it would scare the leopard into attacking us. But we as farmers have no other alternative, our work begins even before the sun rises. This leopard hunt is putting immense pressure on us famers, we hope the forest team will catch the leopard soon."
Nataraj, Palacode Forest Ranger said, "We do not want any people to come across the leopard when it is hunting as it might cause a Human- Wildlife conflict. Though the night movement restrictions are troublesome, no one has been injured. The peoples cooperation has been crucial as we were able to study its hunting patterns and frequented areas."
He added,"Right now we have placed a trap at the edge of the forest with two chickens as live bait and also set motion sensors in the surrounding area to safely relocate it. So far the leopard has hunted a few chicken and three goats along the forest area. Our team has been vigilantly monitoring the RF areas where the leopard has been sighted multiple times. It is still in the vicinity and we advise caution."