Attack on a couple of calves and a goat tied inside an enclosure in an open site at Esanai on Wednesday night triggered concern about suspected movement of a leopard. While the goat and one calf were found dead inside the enclosure, another calf which was seriously injured was shifted for treatment. Forest Department officials inspected the spot on Thursday. The animals were reared by R. Shanmugam, a farmer. He had used to tie the calves and the goats in an enclosure with a bamboo fence situated a few distance away from his house.
Officials said Shanmugam found the goat and one of the calves dead and another calf grievously wounded on Thursday morning when he went to the enclosure. The attack on the domestic animals seemed ferocious as the intestines of two animals had come out. The incident triggered concern of a suspected movement of a leopard. Officials went to the village on Thursday morning to get a first hand account of the incident.
An official said that a dog used for hunting could have attacked the domestic animals basing his observation from the pug marks found near the enclosure. He ruled out the possibility of a leopard. Usually, a leopard or other carnivore bites the neck to kill its prey. However, in this case the goat and the calves were attacked from behind. The stomach portion of the domestic animals were completely bitten. Further, the animal that had killed the goat and the calf had entered through one of the holes in the bamboo fence, he said.
