No leopard sighted, cage behind Vibgyor removed

Four days after keeping two cages in Thubarahalli and Nallurahalli, the Forest department on Sunday removed the one behind Vibgyor school. The second cage will continue to be at Nallurahalli for a couple of days. 

Range Forest Officer Veeranna said that the department officials were patrolling Whitefield, Varthur, Nallurahalli and surrounding areas since Tuesday night, after people spread rumours of the presence of a leopard in the area. One local resident said that she saw a leopard at Nallurahalli behind Divyashree Tech Park. The patrolling teams have not sighted any leopard or come across any sign of its presence so far. “We removed the cage behind Vibgyor school on Sunday night. The cage at Nallurahalli will be there for another two days, depending on the situation,” Veeranna said.  

It all started after a leopard entered Vibgyor school, in Thubarahalli, Whitefield, last Sunday. The eight-year-old male was captured and sent to the Bannerghatta Biological Park Rescue Centre. On Tuesday night (February 9), locals of Thubarahalli and Varthur had claimed that they had seen a leopard and on Wednesday evening, locals of Nallurahalli claimed to have sighted another. 

Veeranna said that the teams, along with police officials, were regularly patrolling the areas searching for signs of the animal. They have also been educating people about the Dos and Don’ts. Posters have been distributed to locals and educational institutions on what to do when they sight a leopard, whom to call and how to identify pug marks of dogs or leopards. NGOs are also being roped in to increase awareness among the people. Though rumours of the leopard presence are still doing rounds, things have gradually come back to normal in these areas.