PANAJI
A black panther recently rescued from a village in Goa is healthy and efforts are on to install a tracking device on the big cat, officials said on Tuesday. The black panther will be released into the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in South Goa, they said.
The elusive black panther which had been moving around in Balli-Quepem was finally trapped by the forest department in the wee hours of Saturday. A senior forest official said that the forest departments of Goa and Karnataka are working with the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) to install a chip-based collar on the big cat to track his movements.
The health condition of the black panther is good. It is under observation at Bondla zoo (in North Goa), he said.
On Monday, state Health Minister Vishwajit Rane took to Twitter to share that they have called in doctors from Karnataka to review the condition of the black panther.
“Officials from Karnataka have also been called to help us install a tracking device on the Black Panther and monitor its movements. The Black Panther will be released into the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary after reviewing its condition. @moefcc @byadavbjp,” he tweeted.
Residents of Balli and surrounding villages had been through restless nights as the animal had been moving in the area and had reportedly devoured dogs and cats.
Earlier last month, a video had gone viral after the black panther was caught on camera straying in the vicinity of the residential houses, prompting Forest Minister Vishwajit Rane to personally monitor the situation with forest officials.
