CANACONA
An adult female leopard was trapped by the Forest Department (wildlife) in a cage set up at Colomb in Canacona municipality in the wee hours of Saturday.
According to ward councillor Shubham Komarpant, three leopards have been preying on pet dogs in the area, and this has caused alarm among people for several months.
Following persistent requests from locals, forest officials set up a cage in the nearby forest about a month ago.
One leopard was trapped in the cage at about 5 am, and locals said around the same time, the leopard got trapped inside the cage, a dog was attacked in the neighbourhood, indicating there were other leopards in the locality.
The officials later took away the trapped leopard to Hathipal Rescue Centre at Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and later shifted the wildcat to Bondla Zoo.
“These leopards have been frequenting the locality where forest cover is minimal, taking away pets, and it even feels dangerous for people to step out of their houses in late-night hours,” said Councillor Shubham Komarpant.
Meanwhile, the forest department has set up a cage to trap the remaining two leopards.
