Hyderabad: Villagers of Pataparthi village in Yacharam mandal, Ranga Reddy district are, in a state of panic and fear because a leopard is on the prowl in the area. On Monday, they came across partially eaten carcass of a calf. Forest department officials say that the leopard is not new to prowling into human habitation and is responsible for a cattle kill that occurred in September.
A forest official said that the leopard must be a young male newcomer to the reserved forest located just about 100 metres from the village in search of territory. Being a new-comer the leopard must be coming out to the human habitation in search of food killing stray dogs rather than hunting inside the forest. A trap laid by the forest department for capturing the leopard has not borne fruit yet. As the wild cat remains elusive, officials from the forest department are planning to lay another cage in a bid to trap the animal.
