BENGALURU: Residents of Veerabhadra Nagar in Girinagar woke up to a shocker on Sunday, when they heard of a leopard entering one of their sheds and killing six goats and 11 sheep. Forest officials said prima facie it looked like a leopard attack and people have been told not to venture out at night.
This is the first time in recent years that a leopard has crossed Nice Road to attack livestock in the city.
According to locals, the shed where the animals were killed is close to Nice Peripheral Ring Road. Jadiyappa, a labourer in the shed, was the last person to see the sheep and goats alive. “About 8.30pm, I came to the shed, fed these animals and left for home. When I returned around 5.30am the next day, I found the livestock dead. This is scary,” said Jadiyappa, who lives in a house provided by his employer, Manu, about 50 metres from the shed.
Fear is palpable in the locality though forest department personnel are patrolling the area and are ready to trap the the big cat if they sight it. “How can we even go out if wild animals are entering these places? We had heard stories of leopards and other wild animals crossing Nice Road, but had never seen something like this. We are now scared to step out,” said Ramesh Rajappa, a private employee and resident of Veerabadhra Nagar.
Manu, who has been rearing sheep and goats in the same shed for 10 years now, said this was the fist time that these animals were attacked in the locality. “It looks like the leopard attacked the livestock between 1am and 1.30am. A few of my employees live in houses next to the shed. Curiously, no one heard the animals bleating,” he said.
Forest department officials are combing the area and making public announcements, telling people not to venture out of their homes at night. Turahalli forest is about 10km from where the incident took place.