The Madukkarai forest range on Tuesday witnessed a leopard attack on livestock for the second time in four days, with the carnivore preying on a goat in a farm at Kalampalayam near Madukkarai.
The leopard had attacked four goats of Kittusamy, caretaker of the farm, while the animals were grazing on Tuesday morning. The leopard killed an adult goat, lifted a kid and left two goats injured when Kittusamy returned to the farm after breakfast.
The farmer took the dead goat and the injured ones to a veterinarian at Madhamapatti, who examined the carcass and the injured animals. The bite and scratch marks were found to be that of a leopard. The condition of the two injured goats was stable. The Forest Department officials were informed about the incident on Wednesday. Officials who inspected the place said the carnivore could have come from jungles in nearby Ayyasamymalai.
Farmers from the area have demanded that the Forest Department place a trap to capture the leopard. However, an official from the Department said the cage that was used to trap a male leopard from Mayiladigal Thottam, under Karadimadai beat in Madukkarai forest range on December 5, 2018, was being repaired. Five goats and four chickens belonging to a farmer from Pooluvapatti near Madukkarai were killed by a leopard in the intervening night of January 18 and 19.
Bear attacks woman
A 49-year-old woman, a tea estate worker, was injured in a bear attack near Valparai on Wednesday. The injured has been identified as Udayakumari. She was attacked by a bear while plucking tea leaves from a plantation at Sheikalmudi around 2.30 p.m. She was admitted to Government Hospital, Valparai.
