COIMBATORE: A cow died in an alleged leopard attack at Muthukallur in Karamadai Forest Range on Thursday evening. Following the incident, forest department officials fixed camera traps in the area to spot the predator’s movement.
According to sources, Govindharaj, a dairy farmer, took ten cattle heads for grazing close to the forest in the foothills of Thogaimalai. When the animals were grazing, a leopard sprang upon the scene and dragged a five-year-old cow.
Govindharaj alerted the forest department and a team visited the place and found remains of the cow’s carcass. “We confirmed it to be a leopard attack as pug marks of a leopard were found at the place.
Compensation would be issued to the farmer. Leopard movement was reported about two months ago in the locality, but it was not monitored as there were no complaints after that. We have now placed camera traps in the place. If leopard movement is frequent, further decisions would be made,” said N Jayaraj, DFO, Coimbatore.