Another cage to lure in leopard

Mangalore Today News Network

Bengaluru, Feb 12, 2016, DHNS: Forest officials on Thursday kept another cage to capture the leopard which has been sighted in several localities in eastern Bengaluru over the past few days. The new cage with a stray dog as a bait was kept at Nallurahalli, behind Divyashree Tech Park near Whitefield, in the afternoon.

The move comes a day after a woman said she had spotted the leopard behind Anjaneya tempe and the offices of computer technology companies Wipro and Accenture. Forest officials said they found pug marks in the vicinity.

The new cage, brought from Hessarghatta, has been kept six kilometres from where the first cage was placed behind Vibgyor High school in Thubarahalli. Just on Sunday, a leopard had strayed into the school and injured several people. The animal was then captured and taken to a rescue centre.

Forest officials insisted that the first operation — to keep a cage behind Vibgyor school — cannot be termed a failure. “The leopard will not walk into the cage immediately. We have to wait for at least three days. If the leopard is in the area, it may or may not get attracted to the bait,” said Assistant Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru South, S Krupanidhi. Meanwhile, forest and police personnel on patrol didn’t sight the leopard or find any signs of it on Wednesday night and Thursday. They said the leopard had possibly moved away. Local residents, however, continue to live in fear. They spent a sleepless night on Wednesday thinking the leopard was wandering around.

While many stayed indoors, some curious people went to see the cages. Forest and police personnel shooed them away.

Dipika Bajpai, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Urban, said the idea behind keeping the cages was to reassure people, not scare them. “If the leopard hasn’t walked into the cage, it is an indication that the carnivore is not around,” she said.

Vidya Athreya, an expert on leopards, said the animal roamed the fringes of Bengaluru and not all of them could be captured and relocated. “It has happened many a time that if one animal, like a leopard or tiger, is removed from one place, two more take its place. This is because these animals are territorial, which can create more problems. Thus ideal solution is to co-exist.” she said.