Mysuru: A male leopard which gave sleepless nights to residents in M Kongahalli village and surrounding areas of Nanjangud taluk, was trapped in a cage laid by the forest department staff on January 21.
The two-year-old leopard spotted in M Kongahalli and surrounding villages in Nanjangud taluk some time ago, was repeatedly killed the livestock and did not spare even the dogs. On January 19, the leopard had killed a cow belonging to a farmer Sidde Gowda in Kongahalli. The villagers had complained of the incident to the forest authorities.
RFO Jayashankar, who inspected the place, had laid a cage near the village with a portion of the cow which it had killed, inside the cage as bait. The leopard picked up the scent of the bait and walked straight into the trap in the wee hours of Sunday.
The villagers informed the forest department after finding the animal captured inside. Hundreds of villagers gathered around the cage to see the wild cat, which remained unperturbed by the events.
M Hongahalli villagers heaved a huge sigh of relief when a team led by Forest Officer Jayashankar released the wild cat in Bandipura Tiger Reserve.
