A leopard that recently strayed into the newly inaugurated Atal Behari Zoological Park at Kamalapur near Hampi is causing concern among the authorities.
The authorities concerned, who confirmed that the leopard had strayed into the park, denied that it had attacked deer in the herbivorous enclosure.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed reports stated that the wild cat had taken two deer.
“The leopard might have gained entry into the park through a culvert and drain. To ensure that the leopard did not stray into the park again, we have plugged the drains with grills. There are no reports of the wild cat attacking deer in the herbivorous enclosure. We are constantly monitoring the area for pug marks and we have not found any so far,” Executive Director of the park Purushottam told The Hindu. The park was inaugurated by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on November 3 this year. Prior to this, deer and blackbuck from the mini zoo in Ballari were shifted in a phased manner to the park. This is for the first time that a report of a leopard straying into the park has come to light.
The park has come up in about 141 hectares in the Bilikal reserve forest area, adjacent to the Daroji Bear Sanctuary, to house a zoo-cum-safari. It will also have enclosures for herbivorous animals, tigers and sloth bears.
Leopards are often sighted in the bear sanctuary and also in the surrounding areas, including the world famous Hampi, and the possibility of leopards coming in search of prey at the park is not ruled out.