MARGAO, AUG 24
A male leopard fell into the trap laid by the Forest department at Cancnamodi-Cuncolim in the wee hours of Tuesday, giving relief to the local residents.
The presence of leopards had given sleepless nights to the residents of Cancanamodi, with the wild cats devouring around 28 pigs and 11 dogs in the last two months.
Forest officials have laid another trap in the locality after residents sighted three more leopards since the last three days.
The trap was laid three days ago after locals intimated forest officials over the presence of four leopards moving around the hilly terrain. That the leopard was trapped became known after the residents woke up to a loud roar from the trapped animal.
This is the first catch of a leopard in the Durga-Cancanamodi area of the Chandreshwar range. Last year, the forest official had caught a leopard in adjoining Durga.
Incidentally, the forest department has laid a trap at a place in neighbouring Sarzora village after locals sighted leopards in the last three days.
Says Samson Fernandes: “The trap was laid three days ago, but there was no sign of the leopards. Today, we woke up the loud cries of the leopard, which had wrought havoc in the locality”.
His aged mother Maria said the leopards had literally given her sleepless nights as the wild cats devoured around 28 pigs and 11 dogs in the last two years. “We sighted a total of four leopards, including the female.
Even after the male leopard fell in the forest department trap, the remaining three animals were seen around the house, before making good their escape in the jungle”, she added.
Forest officials said the trapped leopard has been transported to Cotigao, where it will be attended by a veterinary doctor, before the animal is finally released in the dense forests in the Molem range.
