A leopard that was holed up in a warehouse at B.K. Pudur in Coimbatore on January 17 fell into the trap set up by the Forest Department at 12 am on January 22.
A video captured by a night vision camera fixed by the Department on the cage showed the leopard carefully stepping into the cage and getting trapped after five days of waiting.
The Department had placed cages at the front and back doors of the warehouse on the busy Coimbatore-Palakkad Road soon after a man noticed the carnivore getting into the building on January 17 morning. The Department initially placed meat and water inside the two cages to lure the leopard. On the second day, live dogs were kept behind the cages to attract the animal.
It also fixed up six night vision cameras on the cages and through other gaps in the building to observe the animal in distress. Visuals from the surveillance cameras showed the carnivore staying away from the cages.
On January 20, the Department cordoned off the area and reduced the number of staff on the warehouse premises to create a natural ambience and avoid human presence.
The leopard tried to step into one of the cages in the early hours of January 21 but withdrew. The carnivore fell into the trap cage placed at the front door of the building at 12 am on January 22.
S. Ramasubramanian, Conservator of Forests, Coimbatore Circle, said that the team involved in the task patiently waited for the animal to get trapped without using a tranquilliser dart. He said that the animal will be released into a deep forest area based on instructions from the Chief Wildlife Warden Shekhar Kumar Niraj on January 22 morning.
The Department suspects that the leopard that got trapped at the warehouse is the one that was roaming in residential areas including B.K. Pudur and Sugunapuram, around four km away from the boundaries of the Madukkarai forest range of Coimbatore Forest Division.
Though the carnivore had not attacked humans, it preyed on many dogs from the locality. District Forest Officer T.K. Ashok Kumar, Assistant Conservator of Forests C. Dinesh Kumar, forest veterinarians A. Sukumar from Coimbatore Forest Division, Rajesh Kumar from Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, forest range officers P. Santhiya, K. Jayachandran and Arun Kumar were camping at the place for the capture of the leopard.
Mr. Ramasubramanian thanked the police, the Fire and Rescue Services and residents of B.K. Pudur for assistance in trapping the animal.
The leopard was taken to the Forest Department timber depot at Mettupalayam from where it will be taken to a deep forest area for release after a detailed examination by the veterinarians.