COIMBATORE: As many as twenty goats were killed in a suspected animal attack in Annur near Coimbatore on Sunday night.

Livestock farmer Ravi Kumar on Monday morning found his 18 goats mauled to death, with the heads of three being consumed by the predator animal, while two others had gone missing from the shed of his farm in Ottarpalayam Panchayat.

The goats had bite marks on their neck. On receiving the information, the Sirumugai forest department and Annur police rushed to the spot and examined the spot. The forest department personnel are gathering evidence to find the unidentified animal, which is suspected to be a leopard or dhole.

The forest department has placed camera traps in the locality, and villagers have been advised not to venture out of their houses in the dark.

In another similar attack, a leopard killed a bull in Devar Sholai in Gudalur Taluk in the Nilgiris. The cattle, owned by Hamsa from Padanthorai near Devar Sholai, had returned after grazing on Sunday evening. They were kept tied in the shed behind his house.

On Monday morning, Hamsa found one of his bulls mauled to death. On receiving the information, the Gudalur forest department personnel arrived and suspected the carnivore to be a leopard based on pug marks lifted from the area. The villagers have demanded the forest department to capture the animal and also provide compensation to the family.