PONDA: The Forest department on Tuesday set a trap to capture the elusive black panther which killed over 25 domestic animals and pets in the last few days at Vandalya, Dharbandora.
The big black cat was captured on a CCTV camera installed near the house of local Atul Naik at Vandalya and since then the Collem Forest Department workers have been keeping a watch over the area at nights. The entire operation is being conducted under the guidance of RFO Ravi Shirodkar.
Interestingly, the big cat has shied away from prowling the area ever since the traps are laid but the officials have said that they are hopeful of catching it in the next 2-3 days.
“Pet dogs and cats were suddenly disappearing from the village for the past one year. Thanks to the installation of CCTV cameras, it came to light that the black panther was behind their disappearance. Forest workers are patrolling the area but once they move away, the panther reappears,” said Anita Naik, a local.
Meanwhile, a leopard tried to kill a pet dog at Maine, Nirankal. The dog owner Pralhad Satarkar said that the dog is undergoing treatment. All dog owners in the village are now their keeping pets indoors and say that they don’t want to take any chances of their animals getting killed.
