In a third such instance in the span of a few months in a single village, a leopard was trapped in a cage at Kadur near here in Hirekerur taluk of Haveri district on Tuesday morning.
In fact, this is the fifth instance of a leopard being trapped in Rattihalli hobli in the last few months.
The Forest department had placed a cage on the bund of the upper Tunga canal, following demands by the villagers. Department staffers later shifted the trapped feline to Hirekerur.
A big cat had been trapped a fortnight ago. The people had then said that there were three more leopards.
With the larger of the three leopards now caught, the residents want the other two also to be caged.
The people are worried that the big cats still roam the villages in the hobli. Farmers are scared to go their fields at night.
They are also concerned about the fact that the felines are preying on cattle and other domestic animals.
U B Banakar, the local MLA, had raised the issue in the Assembly and the Forest department promised action.
B C Arishinad, the range forest officer of Hirekerur, has reassured people that they need not feel scared as the captured big cat will be shifted to a forest far away from their place.
(Published 08 December 2015, 19:59 IST)
JOIN US