PONDA: Against all odds a large, muscular black panther has been captured on CCTV camera roaming around the house of Atul Naik house in Vandalya Dharbandora. The ‘capture’ of the elusive cat has created panic among villagers.
The incident occurred on November 4 at around 1:30 am when the big black cat was seen outside Naik’s house situated about 4 km away from the Dharbandora Panchayat office.
Villagers say that over 15 pet dogs and several cats had gone missing over the last few days and they speculated the presence of big cats prowling the area.
However, it was the CCTV footage has now confirmed the presence of a Black Panther in the vicinity.
Naik revealed that the cat had been spotted on CCTV cameras even before Ganesh Chaturthi, but due to poor visibility of the image, they had failed to identify it. “I have informed the Collem Forest Department about the ‘capture’,” said Naik.
Meanwhile RFO Ravi Shirodkar visited the area with his team of officers on Thursday morning to assess the situation and devise a plan to address concerns of the villagers.
Villagers say that this is not the first time that Black Panthers have been spotted in the region. Over the past 2-3 years, these cats were spotted in the Sacorda preying on pets in the village.
It may be noted that the Black Panther is very rare to find but tourists have claimed spotting the elusive black cats in the forests of Karnataka.
