Leopard trapped but man-eating tiger still at large in Gudalur

COIMBATORE: A leopard was caught in a cage set up by the forest department to capture a tiger near Gudalur in the Nilgiris on Wednesday, as the search for the elusive big cat entered its 20th day.

Around 6 am, forest personnel checking the cages placed at an estate in O' Valley heard a loud growl in one of them. Suspecting that the tiger had been trapped, they approached the cage and were surprised to find an agitated leopard inside.

“We approached the cage suspecting that a tiger had been trapped. To our surprise, there was a leopard inside. Around 13 cages have been placed at various vulnerable locations to trap the tiger,” a forest department official said.

The leopard was subsequently tranquilised, shifted to another cage and transported to a deep forest area in Ambulimala, where it was released safely.

The forest department has intensified efforts to capture the tiger suspected of attacking and killing two people in the O' Valley area on August 8 and August 21. In both cases, the animal had partially consumed the bodies after the attacks.

As part of intensified search operations, multiple teams continued their combing operations and monitored the animal's movements with around 189 camera traps installed across the Gudalur Forest Division.

Meanwhile, the department is also continuing efforts to capture another tiger that has been frequently sighted near residential areas in Nambalakkottai and Vimalagiri in Gudalur. Trap cages and camera traps have been deployed in these areas to track and capture the animal.