Forest Department fixes camera traps at 2 villages to capture leopard movement

Forest Department fixes camera traps at 2 villages to capture leopard movement

The Forest Department has installed three camera traps at Gandhi Kanavai and Chinna Pallikuppam villages, falling under the Gudiyatham and Vaniyambadi forest ranges in Vellore and Tirupattur respectively, to capture movement of leopards.

In the case of the Gandhi Kanavai village, located on the fringes of the Kalapadi Reserve Forest, forest officials said dairy farmers in the region had complained to them about their goats being attacked by an animal (suspected to be a leopard) when taken for grazing. “We have fixed a camera near a pond in the village where the farmers say their cattle were attacked. So far, no leopard movement has been captured,” R. Vinoba, forest range officer (Gudiyatham) told The Hindu.

According to the officials, the “predator” might have strayed off its natural habitat and trespassed into human habitations. Many years ago, a young leopard was captured from a house in the Gudiyatham town, they recalled.

A team of forest officials led by Mr. Vinoba inspected the village, and the spot where the “predator” was suspected to have attacked the cattle. However, no pug marks could be spotted. The officials further said that the chances of leopard movement in the area appeared to be slim. Surveillance has been stepped up to avert untoward incidents, if any, the officials said.

In the Chinna Pallikuppam village, located along the Kavapattur Reserve Forest, officials have installed two camera traps. They said that the village was only three kilometres away from the Madakadappa Reserve Forest, where a three-year-old male leopard was released after being captured near a school in Tirupattur town last month. A forest team led by Vaniyambadi forest ranger K. Kumar has been monitoring the area.