T. Narasipur: People in T. Narasipur and surrounding 40 villages heaved a sigh of relief as the leopard that killed two persons was finally trapped in a cage at Madgaralingayyanahundi (M.L. Hundi) after an intensive 22-day-and-night operation.

 The leopard had attacked and killed Manjunath and Meghana, both students and had also attacked livestock and created terror in the region.

While 22-year-old Manjunath, a student of Maharaja’s College in Mysuru was attacked by the leopard when he was returning from Mallikarjunaswamy temple near M.L. Hundi on Oct. 31, 22-year-old Meghana, a student of Government First Grade College at T. Narasipur was attacked on Dec. 1 at Kebbehundi.

The Forest Department identified the feline as a seven-year-old male weighing around 80 kgs and though they had tried various tactics to catch the prowling leopard since the last seven weeks, it managed to give them a slip and escape into the forest. The leopard was sighted only seven to eight times and thrice on high-definition thermal drone cameras.

The big cat was finally trapped when it walked into the cage that was designed like a cowshed in Ukkalagere village of T. Narasipur taluk near M.L. Hundi to eat a calf. Hundreds of villagers of the region rushed to see the captured leopard and celebrated the moment.

Over 150 Forest Department staff were tracking the leopard since Nov. 1 and advanced technology including thermal drones and night vision cameras were used in the operation.

Though over 18 small cages were placed to capture the feline, it did not bite the bait and had always stayed one step ahead of the experts who were tracking it. Changing their strategy, the Forest Department officers placed a large cage measuring around 10 ft x 15 ft that was specially brought from Tumakuru and designed it like a cowshed with hay and green grass on its roof and sides.

Live bait was placed inside the cage in a bid to lure the feline. This strategy proved successful and the leopard entered the cage at around 4.30 am on Friday and the Forest staff heard loud growls of the enraged feline when they visited the spot at 10 am.

Looking at the pattern of the two killings, the distance between them and the style of attack, it has been ascertained that it is the same leopard that took the lives of the two youths. 

Over 37 camera traps were set up in a bid to ascertain the identity of the leopard and the exercise yielded 10 to 12 images and they matched that of the captured feline. Even its pugmarks matched.

Chief Conservator of Forests Mysuru Circle M. Malathi Priya and DCF Mysuru division Kamala Karikalan said the leopard had been shifted to Bannerghatta Biological Park, Bengaluru.

It may be recalled here that under pressure from the protesting villagers, a shoot-at-sight order was passed after both the killings. Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Kumar Pushkar had personally visited the site and monitored the operations.