DHARMAPURI: Palacode forest officials have started monitoring the fields of Chandirapauram village in search of a leopard that jumped out of a well and escaped.
On Monday evening, when a few villagers arrived close to S Madhu’s farm well, they heard a strange grunting noise from it and when they looked into it, they found a leopard stranded in the crevice of the well and immediately notified Madhu, who informed the forest and fire force officials.
P Natraj, Palacode Range officer told TNIE, “The well is located nearly 1 km away from the forest and it is unclear why the leopard came deep into the fields. We found the leopard sitting in the crevice and as we prepared the net to capture it and pull it out, thinking that it had fallen into the well while chasing its prey, it jumped out and ran into the thick fields. The thick foliage masked the leopard’s movement and we are taking steps to identify and relocate it.”
Natraj added, “As a precaution, forest officials are visiting the nearby villages spreading information, warning people to stay indoors at night as a precaution. On the other hand, our team is also surveying the area in hopes of identifying the leopard.”