Elusive ‘jungle cat’ triggers panic

On Monday and Tuesday as well, the animal struck, killing a pet dog near the same spot where it was first sighted last week on Monday.

October 01, 2014 11:59 am | Updated April 18, 2016 09:06 pm IST - THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:

Ever since it was first seen on the night of September 22, local residents and Forest Department officials have tried everything in and outside the book to trap the animal that is now continuing to trigger panic in the Neyyar region, particularly in and around Perinjamkadavu, near Kallikkadu.

On Monday and Tuesday as well, the animal struck, killing a pet dog near the same spot where it was first sighted last week on Monday.

On early Tuesday, it was a cat that was killed. The strikes, according to Paruthipally Range Officer J. Satheeshan, have so far included cats, hens, and a couple of goats.

On Monday, the residents of the house where the dog was killed told officials that they saw the animal, which was ‘as big as a dog, greyish, and about one-metre long.’

“There have been regular sightings, and strikes, ever since the first sighting on September 22. But for the last eight days, our efforts to trap the animal have not succeeded,” Mr. Satheeshan said.

With the first strike triggering panic that it could be a leopard on the prowl, officials brought an iron cage from Kollam on September 24 and placed it with a goat as bait near the house where the animal was seen.

Camera traps

On September 25, eight camera traps were placed at different positions, including near the Nettukaltheri open jail. The memory cards from the cameras are examined every two days.

So far, though the cage and the camera traps were shifted here and there, the animal has remained elusive, but striking at its will.

“From what we can decipher from the pug marks, it cannot be a leopard. It should be a jungle cat, some of which are known to grow bigger than domestic dogs and do not attack humans normally. We will continue with the cage and the cameras as of now,” Mr. Satheeshan told The Hindu .

Though there were plans to set up one more cage trap, the lack of such cages has put that idea to rest.

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