Leopard scare near Karamadai as goats mauled to death

Maruthan, 40, a daily wager from Mettur village had found his goats, tied in front of his house, mauled to death in the morning, according to the Forest Department. 

On being alerted, a team of Forest Department staff led by Forest Ranger Saravanan arrived and examined the spot for any pug mark trace. 

An autopsy was performed on the carcass of the goats and their body parts were sent for laboratory analysis by veterinarian Hemachandran. Meanwhile, farmer’s co-ordination committee president Pandurangan claimed that a leopard has been on the prowl in the area over the last few months. 

“Six goats were found dead in a similar manner in the same spot six months ago. Further, two goats had died in Paraipallam and Santhanapuram areas. Some farmers have seen the leopard, but the Forest Department is in denial,” he said. 

However, Saravanan said the goats were killed by dogs and not by a leopard in the previous incidents. 

“Our monitoring by two CCTV cameras has only recordings of dogs. Now, a 10-member team has been formed to monitor the animal, besides camera monitoring,” he said.

 Similarly, the Forest Department has fixed cameras to monitor the leopard movement in Arivoli Nagar in Madukarai near Coimbatore, following a request by villagers. Members of the public had seen the leopard a few days ago, but it did not harm anyone or attack cattle and retreated into the forest.