Leopard scare troubles Muralaikuttai villagers in Tamil Nadu

COIMBATORE:  Residents of Muralaikuttai near Narasipuram say they are having sleepless nights as a leopard that killed two dogs and attacked a calf in the past week is still loose in the area. The villagers claimed that the animal visited the place on Sunday, but forest officials denied it. However, they will continue to monitor the animal’s movement.

VK Senthil Kumar, a resident of the village, said, “Last Wednesday, the leopard killed my two dogs and I suspect this is the same animal that killed my other dog six months back. Due to this repeated visit by the big cat, workers are in fear to turn up for plucking vegetables in our farms.”

R Boobal, a farmer, said, “A leopard attacked my calf at 6.30 pm on Friday. However,  the animal left the place soon, as the cow started chasing it and the dogs started barking. Based on our information, forest staff visited our grove and confirmed the leopard’s presence as pug marks were found.”  

“The animal returned to my grove on Sunday and we identified this by the animal’s pugmark. Despite multiple requests, the forest department is not taking effective steps to prevent the leopard intrusion and we are spending sleepless nights. The leopard should be captured and relocated before an untoward incident happens,” he added.

A Coimbatore forest division official said the issue is not serious as the animal has not returned to the village after Friday.  “We suspect the animal might have moved out to another location since we burst crackers and intensified patrol in the area. However, we will fix camera traps and monitor the animal movement. Currently, the situation is under control,” he said.