Bangalore: The forest department is trying to trap a leopard which is on prowl in Hesaraghatta, which has many residential layouts and apartments. The leopard has been on prowl for the last one month, but has not attacked any cattle or people till now.
To prevent any likely attack, the department officials have placed the trap cage near a waterhole in the Hesarghatta, which still has patches of its famed grasslands.
A section of wildlife experts is questioning the necessity to capture the leopard, which is in its own habitat. The area was home to leopards, jackals and a variety of birds for long. But with the city eating into their habitats, bigger mammals are not sighted regularly in the area.
Department officials said Hesarghatta does not have a forest patch that is large enough to sustain the prey base for the leopard. The small stretch of forest near Hesarghatta Lake does not have antelopes or large mammals for the big cat to hunt.
The cage was placed on Wednesday on the orders of wildlife PCCF G.S. Prabhu. Forest officials have been observing the movement of the leopard in and around Hesarghatta for the last many days. It was sighted even on Tuesday night, but it could not be caught as the officials were not ready.
Appu Rao, DCF, Bangalore Urban Division, said the leopard will be caught in two days. “We have placed the cage near a waterhole, which is being frequented by the leopard. We still don’t know where the leopard has come from. It could attack people living and working in Hesarghatta. Farming and constructions activities are going on in Hesarghatta and a leopard without a home could be dangerous,” he said.
Harish R. Bhat, a researcher from the Indian Institute of Science, said that Hesarghatta is one among fragmented forests that housed tigers, leopards and blackbucks in the past.
“The forests around Hesarghatta were part of a contagious patch till Nelamangala. But due to urbanization, the forests were cut off and many isolated leopards were either killed or displaced,” he said.
