One more panther, which was straying into the habitations close to the Western Ghats near Gadana Dam in the district giving sleepless nights to the residents, was caged by the forest personnel on Thursday night.
This is the seventh panther to be caught by the forest personnel in this area in the past six months.
Since the time a stray panther started hunting down dogs and goats in Peththaanpillaikudiyiruppu near Gadana Dam in Kadayam, farmers had been urging the forest personnel to keep a cage with bait to catch the big cat.
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Subsequently, the cage was kept in the jungle between Gadana Dam and the village last Tuesday.
When the forest personnel checked the cage on Friday morning, they saw a 10-year-old female panther trapped in the steel enclosure. After a veterinarian checked the predator, it was taken to Kowthalai River area beyond Papanasam Dam and released.
Forest personnel say the cattle being reared by the farmers and the dogs being used by the agriculturists for guarding the farms attract the panthers towards Peththaanpillaikudiyiruppu. “Since a drought-like condition prevails in several parts of Western Ghats, the herbivores have moved in search of greener pastures,” said an official.
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This has shrunk the panthers’ prey base considerably. Hence, the predators have started invading the hamlets situated close to the Western Ghats where the animals can easily hunt down either cattle or dogs,” an official attached to the forest department said.