Leopard's presence sparks fear among locals in Coimbatore, forest rangers set up trap cage to capture big cat

Coimbatore: For the second time this year, the presence of a leopard in Mothepalayam village in Sirumugai range of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, has triggered panic amongst locals who claim to have first sighted the big cat about a month ago. Going by the latest reports, forest department officials have set up a trap cage to capture the leopard in order to avoid any untoward incident.

In the course of the past few months, inhabitants of Mothepalayam village and surrounding areas have frequently reported leopard sightings along the Sirumugai range. In fact, a predator was captured from the region in July of last year after it mauled several stray dogs and domesticated animals to death and sparked fear amongst locals. Forest rangers released the captured leopard into the reserve forest area near Bhavanisagar Dam a month later.

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According to a report by Times of India, forest department officials visited the area around Mothepalayam village after locals claimed to have spotted a big cat in the area. A preliminary inquiry led rangers to the discovery of pugmarks. Sirumugai forest range officer EN Manoharan told the national daily that the discovery of pug marks led officials to set up trap cameras in the region which confirmed the presence of the predator. A cage was then placed in the area to trap the animal, he added.

The forest range officer also said that the village is not far from the reserve forest which is why leopard and elephants often stray into the village, making their way through banana plantations to a river and a hillock. In order to ensure the safety of villagers, rangers have also been tasked with patrolling the area at night and closely monitor the movement of wild animals. While locals claim that the big cat roaming around in the region has dragged away several of their goats, wildlife officials are yet to verify the claims.

(File Photo)

Earlier this month, a wild elephant killed a couple who were attending nature's call under the limits of the Periyanaickenpalayam forest range in the district. Tribals discovered the two bodies and alerted local police and forest department officials. This was the fourth death caused by a wild jumbo in Coimbatore district in a period of fewer than 45 days. Owing to a large amount of forest reserve areas in the district, the region qualifies as a clear indicator of the rising man-animal conflict in various parts of the country.