Fake News: Viral pic of leopard is not from Turahalli but a village in Tumakuru district

A camera trap image of a leopard pictured near Turahalli forest area in Banashankari 6^th stage a day ago had gripped the citizens of South Bengaluru in panic. However, a day later conservationists and wildlife experts clarified that it is a fake news and the images of the leopard that went viral on social media platforms were taken at Hebbur near Tumakuru in December 2019.

The camera-trap images of a sub-adult leopard, claiming to have been photographed near Turahalli forest area in Banashankari 6^th stage of Bengaluru was doing rounds on Facebook and WhatsApp groups of several schools and Resident Welfare Association (RWA) since Monday.

The viral posts also claimed that the Karnataka Forest Department has launched a massive combing operation since Monday evening to capture the leopard.

Clarifying on the viral post, noted conservation scientist Sanjay Gubbi of Nature Conservation Foundation (NCF), who has been studying and documenting leopards across Karnataka told DH that it was a fake post.

“The camera trap image was taken by our team of researchers near Hebbur in Tumakuru district on December 2019 and it was not in Banashankari, Bengaluru,” Gubbi explained. He also clarified that such fake news will create unnecessary panic and anxiety among the local public.