DHARWAD
: Forest officials have intensified the operation to search the leopard that had strayed into a sugarcane field on Dharwad–Kavalageri road on Wednesday evening. The pug marks of the leopard in the field have confirmed that the animal is still in the surrounding.
Soon after getting information about the presence of the leopard in the sugarcane field belonging to
Shivappa Uppar
on Wednesday evening the forest staff rushed to the place and started search operations. They had kept a cage with the bait ready.
On Thursday morning the combing operation continued and the forest officials, who were combing the area, found fresh pug marks of the wild animal. On Thursday, assistant conservator of forest Sourabh Kumar and team launched the search operation by usinga drone camera.
Shivappa Uppar’s son Maruti said he had seen the leopard at about 4.30pm on Wednesday just outside his farm house. “The animal was standing near the sugarcane crops just 15 metres away from our farm house and was looking at the cattle and a sheep tied outside the house. Our children were playing in the front yard and I immediately took them inside the house and informed my father. When he came out the leopard was still there and it went inside the field when my father raised an alarm,” Maruti told TOI.
DCF
Yashpal
Ksheersagar said the fresh pug marks have confirmed that the leopard is still moving in the vicinity of the sugarcane field spread over 25 acres. The field is thickly covered by sugarcane crops and we have intensified the search operation,” he said.
The DCF said that forest department personnel from Dharwad,
Haveri
and Gadag districts have been deployed for the search operation and three cages with baits have been procured. Tranquilizers with guns have also arrived, he said. The operation will continue without a break, he added.
Yashpal denied that there were two leopards and asserted that the presence of one is confirmed. He also denied the rumours that a leopard was spotted near Harobelawadi village on Dharwad-Savadatti road.
The DCF said the people of the surrounding villages have been informed not to venture out of their houses and to exercise caution.
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