Hyderabad, February 09: The four-year-old leopard sighted in and around Shamshabad has kept forest department officials on tenterhooks, ever since it was first spotted three weeks back. While the wild cat continues to remain elusive, its frequent visits to local villages has made them lose their sleep.
After the leopard was first sighted in Shatamrai, officials made numerous visits to the area and later to Chary Nagar. After confirming that a leopard was indeed on prowl, officials circulated their contact numbers to villagers so they can be contacted, in case of more sightings. After the visits, scared villagers of Chary Nagar and Khavvaguda, where the most recent sightings were made, have been calling up officials with information and eager queries of whether the wild cat has been trapped.
“We have been constantly on the lookout, visiting and making assessment of the areas wherever it has been spotted. We have placed cage traps in two different locations and made visits thrice in the night. This has been our daily routine since the first trap was laid,” said forest section officer, K Nagendra Babu.
Meanwhile, a cage trap has been set near a temple in the outskirts of Chary Nagar and a second trap in peripheral areas of Khavvaguda village. The leopard had attacked a buffalo calf in Khavvaguda and was also sighted in the Rajiv Gandhi International airport premises four days back.
–Agencies