Coimbatore: Forest department officials here have installed a surveillance camera to confirm the movement of a leopard in the human habitat near the famous Marudhamalai Murugan temple atop a hill in reserved forest area on the outskirts of Coimbatore.
The move follows the death of a cow on Tuesday, amid pugmarks at the spot having raised a doubt among the Forest department officials, sources said on Wednesday.
The apprehensions were strengthened in the wake of one of the over 14 cows belonging to a former 55-year-old anti-poaching watcher Villiyangiri, residing at the foothills of Marudhamalai, going missing on Tuesday.
While Villiyangiri takes his cattle daily for grazing behind the Marudhamalai hills, he was saddened by one of his over 14 cows not traceable, sources said. But when he went to the same area on Wednesday, he was shocked to find the missing cow lying dead with its mauled and partly dismembered carcass. He also noticed pugmarks of a leopard near the carcass.
On noticing these features, Villiyangiri at once informed the state Forest department. According to Poluvampatti ranger C. Dinesh Kumar, on receiving information a team of the Forest department staff inspected the spot. “We believe it would be a leopard attack. It is rare to see leopard in this area and hence we have installed a camera trap near the carcass remains,” he said.
The Forest official said Leopards usually go out of their territory during lack of ‘big pray’ in their terrain. “We believe this leopard would have come out its territory in such circumstance, but this incident is a rare one; we have deployed a team of AP watchers in that area to provide protection to the public,” said the range official.
