Leopardess fitted with satellite collar, released in Katarniaghat

Pilibhit: A four-year-old leopardess rescued from Chandaiyapur village, about 5 km from the Dhaurhara forest range of the North Kheri Forest Division, was fitted with a satellite radio collar on Saturday by a team from WWF-India led by biologist Rohit Ravi.The exercise was carried out on the directions of the state's chief wildlife warden (CWLW), Anuradha Vemuri. Forest range officer Nrapendra Chaturvedi said the leopardess was rescued after she was allegedly involved in mauling three villagers in the same village on Feb 13.The forest department placed a cage with live bait a day after the attack, but the animal evaded capture until Feb 20, when she was finally trapped and tranquilised before being fitted with the radio collar.After medical observation by veterinary officer Dr Daya Shankar at Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, the leopardess was released in the Gerua forest range of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary around on Saturday, said field director H Rajamohan.Rajamohan said the satellite collar would transmit precise coordinates of the animal's location directly to the department's computer system, while signals would also be received through a very high frequency antenna during field monitoring, helping prevent the leopardess from straying into rural areas.Meanwhile, a limping leopard was spotted moving through sugarcane fields in Kajri Niranjanpur village under Seramau North police station limits in Pilibhit district. The animal was first seen in Rampura Kon village on Feb 12 before reaching the adjoining village.Divisional forest officer Bharat Kumar DK of the Forest & Wildlife Division deployed a monitoring team to trace the leopard. A cage with live bait was placed on Friday afternoon to capture the animal and shift it to a zoo for treatment. The CWLW granted permission on Saturday to tranquilise the leopard to save its life, the DFO said.After examining a video of the animal, veterinary officer Dr Daksh Gangwar of Pilibhit Tiger Reserve confirmed an injury to its right foreleg. Forest officials expressed concern that the injury could force the leopard to target easy prey, including humans, and issued an advisory to villagers outlining safety measures.