The Forest Department has stepped up surveillance to track the movement of a leopard at Hosur in Talavadi that had killed a cow near a human habitation on June 14.
The carcass of a cow, whose owner is yet to be identified, was found near a defunct quarry located six km from the forest area. A team led by S. Sathish, Talavadi Range Officer, inspected the spot and pugmarks confirmed leopard movement. During monitoring, the team found that the animal returned to the spot the next day and consumed a portion of the leftover carcass at night.
On Friday, a team comprising Mr. Sathish, Talavadi Tahsildar V. Umamaheswaran, Forester M. Perumal, World WildLife Fund (WWF) co-coordinator N. Krishnakumar, Talavadi Panchayat president M. Kumar and quarry owner S. Karthick inspected the quarry where bushes were present in large numbers.
Devendra Kumar Meena, District Forest Officer, Hasanur Division, and Deputy Field Director of STR, told The Hindu the leopard could not be traced during the drone surveillance as it was using the bushes and boulders as its hideouts. The quarry owner was asked to clear the bushes so that it was not used as hideouts by the animals, he added.
A cage was placed with bait near the quarry and camera traps were placed to check the movement of the leopard. During night surveillance on Friday, the forest team found fresh pugmarks in the area. Through the public address system, farmers were asked not to take their cattle for grazing near the quarry and were asked to be cautious.
Panic continues to prevail among people as the spot is located one km away from Talavadi town.
This is the fourth cattle kill reported in Talavadi since May 31. While three cows had been killed by a tiger, one cow was killed by the leopard.
