One more leopard caged near Kadayam

The leopard that was caged at Peththanpillaikudiyiruppu near Kadayam in Tirunelveli district on Monday night.

TIRUNELVELI: One more leopard, which had been killing domestic animals and dogs guarding farms, has been caged by Forest Department personnel at Peththanpillaikudiyiruppu in the foothills of the Western Ghats near Kadayam in the district.

This is the third leopard to be caged in this region since December last and the fifth caught in the last two years. The caged animal was released in the forest beyond Papanasam dam after a veterinarian treated it for the bruises it had sustained.

When the leopard entered the pen of a farmer, Esakki of Peththanpillaikudiyiruppu, on Sunday night, he heard the alarm created by the domestic animals, and chased the wild animal back into the forest. However, four of his sheep suffered bleeding injuries in the attack by the leopard before it was chased away.

“A leopard that entered my pen on January 6 killed a goat and started revisiting this area for prey,” said Mr. Esakki.

Following a complaint from the farmer, the forest personnel kept a camouflaged cage with bait near the pen and successfully caged the leopard on Monday night.

Experts demand radio-collaring of caged predators so that their movements can be easily monitored. “If the caged leopards are fitted with a radio collar, the forest personnel can easily track their movements. Whenever these wild animals are about to cross the fringes of reserve forests and enter nearby villages or farms, the forest staff can easily spot them with the signals and chase them back into the forests. It will effectively avert man-animal conflict and continuing killing of farmers’ domestic and pet animals,” suggested a veterinarian attached to Veterinary College and Research Institute, Ramaiyanpatti.

However, the forest personnel here say they do not have sufficient funds for executing such a costly procedure.