The sighting of a leopard and two healthy cubs near a waterhole created at Vasoolparai in the Amaravathi range has raised the hope that carnivores would survive the summer heat and reproduce themselves.
Forest department officials had created four solar-powered and six manually filled water troughs in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve area in Tirupur district.
“Images of a healthy leopard pack, captured by one of the surveillance cameras kept by us in the forests, are reasons to cheer,” District Forest Officer A. Periasamy told The Hindu .
Waterholes were created at key locations to hydrate carnivores as well as their prey base. Other conservation measures were taken up to maintain a balanced ecology in the tiger reserve area, he pointed out.
The officials roped in the tribal community to minimise disturbance to wildlife and man-animal conflicts.
