Hyderabad: A dairy farmer has lodged a complaint with the Ibrahimpatnam police following the death of his cow, suspecting it to be the job of a big cat. The incident occurred early on Saturday, when the farmer, Mr Bal Raja, found his cow half-eaten and dead lying. Footprints found at the site were suspected to be those of a leopard.
Mr Bal Raja said, "The previous night, I had tied my cow to a tree. When I returned to milk it (on Saturday), I found its stomach eaten. Next to the spot were footprints of an animal. I suspect it to be of a leopard, it killed my source of daily bread."
Following his complaint forest officials arranged camera traps and cages to catch the leopard. This is the 43rd time they have done so.
The forest department have released about 50 deer into the forest to stop leopards from entering human habitats. Besides this, 25 camera traps and five cages have been set up. Two special teams have been deployed to trace the leopard, said district forest officials.
In June this year, leopard attacks were registered at two locations, 25 kms further from Yacharam mandal of Ranga Reddy district. Through this, the forest officials have indicated that there are two leopards on the prowl.
