A Forest Department squad has ruled out the presence of a leopard at Peruvayal where residents were recently kept on their toes after a mobile video showing the movement of a ‘big cat’ on the premises of a marriage venue went viral.
After a detailed site inspection and review of footprint impressions, the squad confirmed that it was a leopard cat. Thamarassery range officer Imrose E. Navas said that the mobile video had actually created an optical illusion with a magnifying effect on the real visual output. “It can be easily identified by making a comparison with the other objects seen in the visual,” he pointed out.
He also said that the video was not a manipulated one, but it had accidentally created the impression of a real leopard with default results on the screen. The squad conducted extensive searches in the area to trace the leopard cat, besides calming down the scared residents, he added.
The Mavoor police had asked the residents to be vigilant after the ‘leopard’ was caught in a mobile video last Saturday. Though the police and Forest Department squads had initially said that it was a ‘big cat’, they rectified the error after a scientific examination of the video and footprints.
