MAYILADUTHURAI: As the search for the elusive leopard entered Day 5 in Mayiladuthurai, forest department officials on Sunday found scat under the railway bridge. The sample has been sent to the Advanced Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC) in Chennai for DNA analysis.
“The DNA analysis will help us study the animal, its behaviour and possibly its gender. The leopard may be moving along the course of River Cauvery and its distributaries,” said Nagapattinam Wildlife Warden Abhishek Tomar.
The forest department suspects that the leopard might have slowly moved out of Mayiladuthurai town and could be hiding in the bushes near Maraiyur village in Kuthalam block. Officials are shifting the cage traps to locations where the big cat’s presence is being confirmed.
At present, officials have set up three cages near Manjalaru, two near Magimalaiaru, one each near Arokiyanathapuram and under the Old Cauvery River bridge near the railway station.
After the big cat was first spotted near Semmangalam, the forest department has installed a total of 45 camera traps at various locations following the leopard trail. The search operation is led by Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests V Naganathan.