Another false alarm on animal movement; this time in Natrampalli
DT Next had on September 14 reported about an alarm of a leopard sighting based on a CCTV footage, which later turned out to be presumably a couple of stray dogs.
TIRUPATTUR: Just weeks after the confusion over the false alert about a wild animal movement was resolved at Oonai Mottur in Vellore district’s Anaicut panchayat, another similar false alert about the sighting of a bear a couple of days ago at Natrampalli in Tirupattur district has caused anxiety among the local residents.
DT Next had on September 14 reported about an alarm of a leopard sighting based on a CCTV footage, which later turned out to be presumably a couple of stray dogs.
Murugan, a subordinate official in Natrampalli town panchayat office residing on Samundeeswari Koil Street, on Sunday night was woken up by some strange sounds and allegedly spotted an animal fleeing the spot.
Suspecting it to be a bear, he alerted forest department officials, who rushed to the spot and started combing the area.
What irked forest staff was that the claim spread like wildfire and residents feared to step out of their houses at night. The forest department then sent a five-member team, who camped in the area and searched for the suspected bear.
However, the pug marks found in the area appeared to be smaller than that of a bear. The hair of the mystery animal was also small and slender unlike that of a bear, which normally is thick and long.
“There is no evidence of any bear movement in the area,” a forest official said on condition of anonymity. Officials surmised that the intruder who woke up Murugan could have been a wild dog.
It may be recalled that Vellore Collector Kumaravel Pandian had put out a press release asking the public to be careful following a leopard being sighted in the Oonai Mottur.
The issue was carried by the print and electronic media. The final was an anti-climax as the animals in question were found to be a pair of frolicking dogs.
