Bait for man-eater tiger attracts leopard in Masinagudi
Nagiammal (69), wife of Balan from Mavanallah in Masinagudi panchayat, was grazing cattle near a stream when a tiger attacked and killed her on November 24. Soon, camera traps were fixed to track the tiger.
COIMBATORE: In a turn of events, a leopard got caught in a cage placed to trap a tiger that mauled to death an elderly woman last week in Masinagudi in the Nilgiris.
Nagiammal (69), wife of Balan from Mavanallah in Masinagudi panchayat, was grazing cattle near a stream when a tiger attacked and killed her on November 24. Soon, camera traps were fixed to track the tiger.
As a precaution, the forest department also began to transport students to schools in their jeeps, while villagers in Mavanallah were advised not to venture out alone.
As officials believed the tiger to have lost its hunting capabilities due to old age, the forest department began efforts to trap the carnivore by placing cages in five spots. A team of staff was also deployed to keep track.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday morning, the staff noticed a leopard trapped in one of the cages. On the instructions of senior officials, the cage was opened, and the leopard was set free. The leopard aged around 2.5 years, then retreated into the forest area.
As news of a leopard caught in a cage spread, the villagers arrived and broke into an argument with forest department officials over setting the animal free in the same locality rather than shifting it to the forest area.
Following assurances from officials that animals trapped henceforth will only be released in deep forests, the villagers left the spot. Further efforts are under way to capture the evasive tiger.