5th leopard spotted at Alipiri-Tirumala route, lab reports of two big cats to come soon
The lab reports are crucial as the forest department will take a call on whether to release the wild cats into the forest or confine them to the zoo.
Published: 02nd September 2023 08:50 AM | Last Updated: 02nd September 2023 08:50 AM | A+A A-
The lab reports are crucial as the forest department will take a call on whether to release the wild cats into the forest or confine them to the zoo.
TIRUMALA: Soon after officials of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) announced that leopards on the prowl had been captured, movement of another wild cat was spotted in the camera traps at the Alipiri-Tirumala footpath on Friday.
After a six-year-old girl was mauled to death by a leopard along the Alipiri pedestrian route on August 11, three felines were captured. A wild cat, which attacked a toddler on June 22, was captured and later released into the forest.
Allaying the fears of devotees, TTD executive officer (EO) AV Dharma Reddy asserted that the staff was on high alert. He added that wooden sticks will soon be provided to pilgrims for their safety.
Asserting that officials will leave no stone unturned to capture the wild animal, Dharma Reddy said, “There is no need to panic. We are monitoring the movement of wild animals with at least 350 trap cameras. We are also planning to install additional 200 cameras.”
Elaborating on measures to curb man-animal conflicts, the EO explained that the TTD will set up permanent forest outposts at Alipiri and the middle of the pathway to ensure better tracking of wild animals. The trap camera images will help in keeping a count of the different wild animals, he explained.
Meanwhile, forest officials are expecting that lab reports of the two leopards that were caught earlier would arrive in a week or two. Samples of the captured felines were sent to IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) to ascertain whether any of them killed Lakshitha.
The lab reports are crucial as the forest department will take a call on whether to release the wild cats into the forest or confine them to the zoo.
“If it is learnt that none of the captured leopards had attacked the six-year-old, they will be released into the wild,” officials said. Authorities at the Sri Venkateswara Zoo said all the captured leopards confined in the animal rescue centre are healthy.
