The special operation underway in T. Narsipur taluk to capture the elusive leopard is turning out to be a tricky one with the forest authorities yet to achieve a breakthrough despite being in the pursuit of the wild cat that has killed two youngsters.
After the first human killing in October, the operation for its capture took off but there has been no physical sighting of the leopard, suspected to be a male, in spite of the long-drawn operations. It was only camera-trapped on a couple of occasions.
“We can capture a tiger as it operates within a territory but the ongoing operation is entirely different since we are in the pursuit of an animal which has no boundaries and is very mysterious. It could be on a tree top watching us carrying out combing operations, so we are unable to detect its presence. The leopard that we are searching for seems to be very intelligent and moving in the area for some time now. It’s clearly avoiding getting close to the cages,” said a senior forest official.
Nearly 150 forest staff are on its pursuit, combing the areas frequented by it. Around 30 camera traps and 16 cages have been deployed for its capture but the leopard remains elusive and keeping the forest staff on their toes.
The task before the forest authorities now is to zero in on the leopard, corner it and entrap it, putting in all best strategies with the operations getting prolonged.
The leopard is suspected to be holed up in Mallikarjuna Swamy Betta as its movements were tracked for the first time by flying drones equipped with thermal cameras. A team from Mumbai in the knowhow of operating drones in such scenarios is camping with the forest teams in the hilly areas of the taluk to assist in capturing the leopard.
“Our priority now is to locate its hideout and capture it, sedating the animal. For this, all efforts are on with the forest teams making sincere efforts to achieve a breakthrough. Thankfully, the animal has not attacked the people in its pursuit. So far, it is not distracted by the human presence,” said Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest Kumar Pushkar, who was in T. Narsipur on Wednesday monitoring the special operation.
Mr. Pushkar, who took a drone team to the site of operation, told The Hindu that the drone has been deployed for the first time for such an operation. “Our efforts are showing some results and we hope to achieve a breakthrough soon. The drone support will be made available for another couple of days as they are noise-proof and equipped with high-resolution cameras which could be key in tracking down the cat that is on the prowl in the surrounding area for many days.”
Deputy Conservator of Forest Kamala Karikalan, who was at Mallikarjuna Swamy Betta with the forest staff carrying out the combing operations, said different strategies are being employed to attract the animal to the cages. “We could entrap it if it comes any closer to the cages,” she said.
