COIMBATORE: Coimbatore Forest Division officials fixed three camera traps on Thursday evening after they confirmed that a leopard had killed a calf in a grove at Kembanur near Thondamuthur.
Earlier in the day, a group of farmers impounded a forest department vehicle demanding that the department must capture the leopard which allegedly killed the calf. The protesters also said they are facing hardship due to the frequent intrusion of wild elephants.
The farmers resorted to protest as several incidents had happened in the grove owned by Vivek, where the big cat allegedly killed a calf, and two elephants damaged the barbed wire fence, a gate and consumed tapioca.
"The animals consumed tapioca crops that were ready for harvest. We are spending sleepless nights and incurring loss of thousands of rupees as the animals are damaging crops frequently," said a farmer.
"The forest department should come up with a permanent solution to stop elephants from entering human habitations. Apart from the loss of crops, we fear of our lives due to their frequent movement," the farmer added.
"We have prepared a detailed project report (DPR) for fixing a wire-roof fence for 11 km between Attukkal and Maruthamalai which is a conflict-prone zone. We hope the government will sanction the funds soon. A similar project has been successful in Hosur," said a forest department official.