Leopard falls into trap, officials not sure if it's man-eater

A six-year-old male leopard was trapped in a cage placed in a forest area near Adishakti Durgadevi Temple in Anegundi region on Monday.

In the last two months, two persons, including the temple cook, were killed and several injured in a series of leopard attacks in Anegundi region. Following which, the Forest department had placed a few dozen cages in the region and fixed CCTV cameras at vantage points.

After a month-long operation to trap the big cats, the Forest department has managed to trap a leopard. The trapped leopard has been sent to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park at Kamalapur in Hosapete taluk to identify whether it is a man-eater or not.

G P Harsha Bhanu, deputy conservator of forests, Koppal, told DH "Identifying a leopard whether it is a man-eater is a very tricky issue. DNA analysis of claws and hair has to be done. The trapped leopard has been tranquilized and sent to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Park, where the experts will ascertain if it's a man-eater."