Day 3: Elusive leopard spotted crossing highway 25 km away

The leopard seems to have moved to Pongupalayam village from Pappankulam by traversing around 25 km on a single day. Some people traveling by a car on the Perumanallur National Highways had spotted the leopard crossing the road and informed the police on Tuesday night.

A search by a team on Wednesday morning detected pug marks and excreta of the leopard in a farm owned by Durai on the way to Pongupalayam panchayat.

The officials gathered the animal’s scat and sent it to the lab for a DNA analysis. A milkman informed the Forest Department that he spotted a dog chasing the leopard around 5 am in the village.

The Forest Department has been trailing the leopard since January 24, when it attacked three persons, including a Forest Department staff, at a farm in Pappankulam.

Assistant Conservator of Forest M Krishnasamy told reporters that surveillance has been increased to 20 villages, including Eetiveerampalayam, Paramasivampalayam, Ayyampalayam and Mangalam, where there is a possibility of the animal to hide.

“Eight teams comprising 50 staff were involved in round the clock monitoring. Villagers need not panic as all efforts have been taken to capture the animal,” he said.

Officials believe that the leopard, which has come out of the Bhavani Sagar Reserve Forest more than 30 km away, might have been living in these villages for a while. With the scene of action shifting to Pongupalayam, the Forest Department has fixed around 20 CCTVs to monitor the movement of the animal.