HYDERABAD: The search is on for a leopard which is believed to have made some trips to a large garbage dump yard near Veerannapet in Mahbubnagar Urban mandal over the past few days. “The dump attracts stray dogs and it is likely that the leopard went into that area to catch a dog,” Mahbubnagar district forest officer (DFO) S. Satyanarayana said.
He made it clear that the leopard did not harm anyone but precautions had been taken to alert people living in the vicinity. On Thursday, a meeting was held by the district collector, the superintendent of police and forest officials to assess the situation and take appropriate steps.
DFO Satyanarayana said residents in the village first reported the movement of the leopard on a hill nearby four days ago. A trap cage with a bait has now been placed in the area, and some camera traps were installed to capture its images.
“The area where it was seen was once part of a reserve forest a patch of which was de-reserved some years ago, so it is natural that wild animals may move in that area,” he said.
As per the collector’s instructions, a drone armed with a camera was flown in the area and the surrounding forest on Thursday but no trace of leopard could be found in the aerial survey.
The district has some 10,000 hectares of contiguous forest which also includes the Mayuri eco-park, which is visited by leopards every now and then, and they are sighted by visitors who go on safaris in the park, the official said.
“Efforts over the past few years to provide round-the-year water sources through solar-powered borewells in the forest, and translocating deer from a nearby park for augmenting prey in the forest have been paying off. We believe there are a few females with cubs in the forest now.” Satyanarayana said, adding “There have been no serious conflicts between humans and leopards.”
