With leopards using the seven defunct quarries near the Tamil Nadu – Karnataka border in Talavadi Forest Range in Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) as a hideout to enter villages and hunt prey, the Forest Department deployed a drone to monitor the movement of carnivores here on Wednesday.
Incidents of cattle and livestock kills were reported in Soosaipuram and Doddagajanur villages near the border in Talavadi for the last three months. Field inspection by forest officials revealed that leopards from forests in Karnataka use the forest stream to enter the State and hunt prey in the villages. Since there are large boulders and bushes in the quarries that remain non-functional for last five months, leopards use them as hideouts.
Though the personnel had set up two cages in Soosaipuram village and on a farm land and installed camera traps, no leopard was caught in the last one month. Footage from a camera trap revealed that a leopard had come near the cage, but did not enter it.
A team led by Talavadi Forest Ranger S. Sivakumar, Wildlife Institute of India’s Krishnakumar, forest guards and other personnel deployed a drone and monitored the quarries and farm lands on Tuesday and Wednesday. But, no leopard movement was spotted. The officials have decided to continue monitoring for one more day.
