CANACONA
Stating people mistake dotted leopards for cheetahs, forest officials clarified cheetahs are extinct not only in Goa, but also India and there are no chances of sighting or encountering a cheetah in Goa.Amidst wildcats terrorising people in Agonda, some residents have pointed out that they have even sighted a striped tiger as well as cheetah, besides leopards frequenting their areas and taking away dogs, piglets and are also often found freely roaming on the village street.
When contacted an ACF (Wildlife) informed that even the sighting of a tiger cannot be corroborated as Forest Department never found one in their previous surveillance of those areas. "The possibility of sighting is next to impossible as cheetahs are extinct, and moreover cheetahs never hunt for dogs, pets or never threaten humans, they hunt only for wild animals like deers, etc. People may be mistaking small or dotted leopards for cheetahs, in fact, cheetahs are slim, though long are just like a dog with a thin face. They are extinct," the official said.
Speaking on the large size of leopards, the Forest official said, people also mistake large-size leopards for striped tigers. "As leopards frequenting in residential areas get more food than they hunt for in forests, especially the dogs, piglets, solid wastes (like chicken, beef wastes), the leopard tend to grow big in size."
Another two Forest staff corroborated the same view on reported sightings of cheetah in Canacona and also spoke about the recent import of wildcats in the country.
