Hyderabad, January 25: People in city suburbs have to be careful from now after Forest department officials confirmed that a leopard was indeed on the prowl at Shamshabad. After a crocodile ventured into the Raidurgam area a few months back, it is a leopard that is giving residents sleepless nights.
The wild animal was sighted by locals near Shatamrai for the third consecutive day, sending chill down their spines. After getting the report, forest officials swung into action and inspected the area of sighting.
“We found pug marks of the beast. One leopard is straying into the locality,” forest range officer, anti-poaching squad, M Raja Ramana Reddy told Express. “We have also collected some hair from the sighted area and it turned out to be a leopard’s,” he added.
The leopard was first seen by locals of Chary Nagar two days back. On Sunday, manager of nearby VNR farms, Venkat Ram Reddy sighted the wild cat once again on the Outer ring road. “We are laying a trap to catch the wild cat tonight. A goat or a dog would be laid as bait to attract the leopard,” Raja Ramana Reddy said.
Forest officials said the leopard might be straying into the residential area in search of prey.
“It might have strayed from the nearby forest area at Chilkur or from adjoining forests of Rangareddy district,” Raja Ramana Reddy said.
—Agencies