With Forest Department staff and its biologists yet to arrive at a conclusion on the identity of an animal that was sighted by a few residents at Kalapatti in Coimbatore's suburbs, the Forest Department on Monday fixed camera traps for surveillance.
The camera traps were fixed at certain areas of Siva Nagar where some persons claimed to have sighted an animal which they had not seen before in the area.
Following complaints from residents, the Department had sent a team to the area on May 27 to gather descriptions of the animal from those who claimed to have seen it and also to study the footprints. The team arrived at a conclusion that it could be a jungle cat.
However, senior officials of the Department who differed with the finding and sought the opinion of biologists. Some of the biologists opined that the footprint looked like that of a hyena. They also felt that the footprint had an overlap due to which confirming the identity was difficult.
Certain pockets of Sirumugai forest range in Coimbatore district, around 45 km from Kalapatti, and the adjoining Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Erode district are the nearest forest areas where hyenas are found.
Considering all these factors, the Forest Department decided to fix camera traps to identify the animal.
N. Rangarajan from Siva Nagar said that his tenant Mani sighted the animal around 10.30 p.m. on Sunday behind the house.
“According to his description, it was not a dog,” he said.
Assistant Conservator of Forests M. Senthil Kumar said that a few residents have complained that chicken had gone missing.
He said that the visuals from the camera traps will be relied on to confirm the identity of the animal.