Farmers are living in constant fear after spotting a leopard for the second time during this week at Ganjivaripalli, near Yerragondapalem in Prakasam district.
Being informed about this, Forest Department personnel are camping in the village with a rescue van and tranquilizer gun to catch the animal, Markapur Divisional Forest Officer C. Saravanan said on Saturday.
The core tiger reserve area of 3,568 square km is home to 70 to 100 big cats, he said.
“We are keeping a strict vigil on the situation. There is no need for panic,’’ he told the farmers while speaking to The Hindu. He suggested that people living in the nearby areas should move in group and carry emergency lights or lanterns during night.
He said that the leopard seemed to have strayed into the habitation probably in search of water or due to territorial problem., adding that after one or two showers of rain, the animal would retreat into the deep forests. A group of farmers said that they were fearing going to their fields. They urged the forest personnel to nab the leopard at the earliest.
