Cams set up to monitor elusive Valparai leopard

According to department officials, two cameras were fixed at the Kurangumudi Estate near the house of a worker, whose family narrowly escaped an attack in May this year. The leopard had entered the house of Anil, a tea estate worker, on May 29. His family members had forgotten to latch the door before going to sleep. “They woke up after hearing the leopard’s roar. Anil and others rushed out of the house and locked the doors from outside. Upon being alerted, the Forest officials arrived and chased away the animal,” villagers claimed.

Since then, the estate workers, who claimed to have spotted the leopard frequently in their neighbourhood, were said to have been anxious over their safety. Despite a Foresters team maintaining round-the-clock vigil, they were unable to spot it.

However, to allay the fears of villagers, the Forest department officials on Friday fixed cameras near Anil’s house to monitor the animal’s movement. In addition, regular patrolling would be carried out, they said.