UDUPI: Spotting of leopard pug marks and blood stains in the courtyards of a house at Thenku Kalya at Bharat Nagar created a buzz in Kaup town near here late on Sunday. Forest department officials and Kaup town municipal president Anil Kumar visited the spot. Department officials confirmed the presence of a leopard in the area based on the pug marks and advised locals to be cautious while venturing out, especially at night.
Clifford Lobo, range forest officer, Udupi told TOI that spotting of leopards is common and there are at least 10-12 leopards in the range that extends over 1.65 lakh hectares. These big cats keep moving up to 10 kms per day in search of food and them straying into areas of human habitation is normal given the extent of urbanisation in what was once a wooded area, he said. There is at least one leopard for every 20-25 sqkm of area, he noted.
The forest department officials at the level of forest guards, watchers keep setting traps for these big cats based on reports of sightings and possibility of them returning to the area where they are spotted. “The leopards keep moving in their area of comfort zone and it is common to come across reports of them being sighted in Kaup, Padubidri, Padoor, Shirva,” Lobo said adding these felines move some 4-5-km before officials can reach a spot.
With movement of people and vehicles now commonplace even late at night, Lobo said the time these animals venture out in search for food which is usually after dusk too has changed. This has led to greater instances of these big cats being spotted, he said. “We have caught at least 3 leopards in the recent past, and one as recently as within the last 30 days,” he said adding they are often released deep in the jungle to prevent them from returning.