A three-year-old male leopard that was reportedly involved in cattle kills near human habitations in Talavadi was found trapped in a cage placed at a defunct quarry here on Thursday.
On June 14, the carcass of a cow was found at the quarry near Hosur causing panic among the people. Pug marks confirmed the presence of the leopard and a cage was placed with bait in the quarry. It was revealed that bushes and boulders in the quarry were being used by the leopard as a hideout.
Based on the instructions from the Forest Department, the quarry licensee began work to clear the bushes.
On Thursday morning, personnel found the leopard inside the cage and alerted senior officials. As the news spread, people in large numbers gathered near the village. But, as a precaution, they were not allowed near the area. Sources said that a veterinarian would assess the health condition of the leopard and based on it, a decision on releasing the leopard in a forest area would be taken. Since the cage is in poor condition, the animal would be tranquillised and shifted to another cage, a source said.
Sources said that the animal had on June 23 got trapped in the cage but broke open it and escaped. The cage was placed a year ago at the quarry when leopard movement was found and the department had recently relocated it to the quarry.
