Leopard which killed people in T Narasipura finally trapped

Villagers of T Narasipura taluk heaved a sigh of relief as foresters trapped the elusive leopard which was responsible for killing people in the last couple of days in the region.
​  The leopard, which has allegedly killed people in T Narasipura taluk, sits in a cage on Thursday | Udayashankar S  ​
​ The leopard, which has allegedly killed people in T Narasipura taluk, sits in a cage on Thursday | Udayashankar S ​

MYSURU:  Villagers of T Narasipura taluk heaved a sigh of relief as foresters trapped the elusive leopard which was responsible for killing people in the last couple of days in the region. According to forest officials, they had installed camera traps in the region after an 11-year-old boy was killed at Horalahalli village in the taluk, and on Wednesday, the leopard was captured on camera at the very spot.

Following this, the officials had placed a cage to trap it, and on Thursday morning, the leopard got trapped. “The rosette pattern of the big cat matched and has been verified. The male leopard seems to be aged five years and we suspect that this could be the one which had killed two persons -- the 11-year-old boy and 60-yearold Siddamma within a gap of two days,” said a senior forest officer in the team, which is working to catch the big cat.

Meanwhile, the news of the leopard trapped in the cage spread like wildfire and villagers from across the region gathered and demanded that forest officials kill the animal. Tension prevailed in the village on Thursday, and in order to avoid untoward incidents, the leopard was shifted from the place immediately.

District minister S T Somashekhar said the elusive leopard which had spread fear among the villagers has been finally trapped. “The superintendent of police and deputy commissioner will hold a review meeting soon. There have been calls since morning from the villagers who are demanding that the leopard be killed. We need to consult forest officials and take a call on the next course of action,” said the minister.

Over the last couple of days, over 130 forest personnel have been deployed in T Narasipura and they are expected to continue there after they had received information of leopard sightings in different locations as well.

Tiger census at Nagarahole from today

Bengaluru: As part of the tiger census being carried out every year in various tiger reserves of Karnataka, staffers of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve will start the eight-day-long exercise from January 27. The training for the exercise was held on January 26 at Veeranhosahally Range for all staffers.

The phase -1 exercise will continue till February 6. In each beat, the officers will carry out sign survey for carnivores and mega herbivores.

All details of direct and indirect sightings will be uploaded on MSTrIPES – Ecological app. Prey density and vegetation plot survey will be also be carried out in each line transects of the respective beats for the next 3-6 days, based on the number of the line transects in each beat.

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