The Forest Department set up camera traps in a village near Coimbatore after two goats were found killed, suspected to have been by a leopard, on Thursday.
Officials with the Department said the goats were found killed in a workshop at Vandikaranur near Thondamuthur.
The owner of the property had tethered the goats inside the workshop on Wednesday evening and left for his home. They were found dead with injuries inflicted by a carnivore when he returned to the workshop on Thursday morning.
District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj said that leopard pugmarks were seen in the locality. A team under the leadership of Yashwant Ambulkar, an IFS officer under training in the Boluvampatti forest range, was formed to identify the carnivore.
Mr. Ambulkar said the injuries found on the goats appeared like the ones inflicted by a leopard. According to him, leopards are known to be messy eaters and the intestines of the goats were seen outside. Since the forest area bordering the village is also home to Asiatic wild dogs or dholes, a camera trap image was needed to confirm the identity of the carnivore.
If the carnivore was indeed a leopard, there was an increased likelihood of it returning to the same spot. The carcasses of the goats were autopsied, added the official.
