Even as the Forest Department has stepped up its surveillance in T. Narsipur for entrapping the elusive leopard, a leopard was camera trapped for the second time at Ukkalagere Betta in the taluk on Monday morning. The first camera trapping was reported on Sunday evening.
The area is close to the villages where two persons were killed in leopard attacks in separate incidents.
The back-to-back camera trapping prompted the Forest Department to step up its pursuit with six teams, each comprising over five personnel, combing and keeping a close monitoring at Ukkalagere Betta, about 8 km from the town, for its capture.
A cage placed atop Ukkalagere Betta in T Narsipur taluk to capture the elusive leopard. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
Deputy Conservator of Forest Kamala Karikalan, who was with the forest teams at Ukkalagere-Mallikarjunaswamy Betta area, told The Hindu that more teams were deployed following the leopard’s camera trapping on Monday morning.
“The teams will be at the betta till Monday midnight. They are equipped with tranquiliser gun and two vets have accompanied the teams. They will tranquilize the animal if spotted. If the leopard was not camera trapped by Tuesday morning, a couple of teams will shift and comb nearby areas while three teams will remain there in its search,” she said.
Ten camera traps and four cages have been placed in the Ukkalagere Betta area with the hopes of the leopard’s early capture. The special task force of the Forest Department was responding to calls from the locals and combing the area where the second killing took place.
“We have come across fresh pug marks near V.C. Koppalu which is not far from the place where the leopard was camera trapped on Monday. We are suspecting the pug marks of the leopard was of the same animal that was camera trapped on Monday, indicating its movement in the vicinity,” Ms. Kamala said.
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