Leopard captured in Thekkatte, 7th instance in past few years

Thekkatte: In a recurring trend, the forest department has once again captured a leopard in the mango grove near Thekkatte Gram Panchayat. This marks the seventh time in recent years that a leopard has been captured at the same location, with the most recent capture taking place on March 10, 2023.

The capture follows an incident that took place on March 8 when a leopard attempted to attack a pet dog owned by Maladi Arebailu Satish Devadiga. In response, the department promptly placed a cage in the area and managed to capture the feline.

On this occasion Zonal Forest Officer Kiran Babu, Deputy Zonal Forest Officer Udaya, former President of Thekkatte Gram Panchayat Malady Sihvaram Shetty, Gram Panchayat President Mamata Devadiga, Gram Panchayat member Suresh Shetty Maladi, Suresh Devadiga, Maladi Arebelu Satish Devadiga, and others were present.

Leopards have been caught and rescued from the same location, with the previous captures taking place on August 4, 2018, October 6, 2019, December 12, 2019, December 24, 2019, April 28, 2022, and October 2, 2022.

However, locals have raised concerns over the movement of a “black leopard” in the area, which was witnessed just four days ago. They are urging the forest department to take immediate action in response to this development.