Reports about movement of a wild cat in two villages of Shamshabad mandal in Ranga Reddy district is causing panic among residents in the surrounding areas.
Visuals of the animal, assumed to be a leopard, have been captured twice on CCTV cameras in Ghansimiyaguda and Shankarapuram villages, on Sunday and Monday too. Death of a calf, which was not given much importance earlier, is now being attributed to the animal.
Forest officials, while not confirming the animal as a leopard, said only a small portion of the calf’s body was eaten. Though it was initially surmised to be a jungle cat, officials say that a leopard cannot be ruled out.
“By the size, it could be a young leopard too. We have planted 10 trap cameras in the two villages to be able to capture better images of the animal. We will double the number of cameras tomorrow, and plan future course of action after identifying it,” District Forest Officer, Ranga Reddy, Sudhakar Reddy said.
