The Forest Department has fixed four camera traps in a farm near Sirumugai after a carnivore, suspected to be a leopard, killed and preyed on a calf on Sunday night.
The calf, belonging to a farmer named N. Murugan from Chittepalayam near Sirumugai, was found dead with a portion of the carcass eaten by a carnivore.
The farmer immediately informed the incident to Sirumugai forest range office and Forest Department staff led by Forest Range Officer E.N. Manoharan reached the spot. Though the staff searched the area for signs of the carnivore, they could not find anything. The staff decided to fix camera traps in the locality, reasoning that the carnivore might return to the farm again to prey on other livestock.
The Forest Department had captured a male leopard in August 2018, and a leopardess in June 2019 from private lands coming under Sirumugai forest range. The animals were released in the limits of Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve.
