Leopard suspected to have killed girl in Tirumala captured, samples sent for DNA analysis

A leopard, suspected to have mauled to death a 6-year-old girl recently, was captured by authorities near Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple on the way to Tirumala.

The leopard walked into the trap on Sunday night and has been shifted to Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (Tirupati Zoo), a forest department official said on Monday.

“We captured the animal, but we don’t know if it is the same leopard or not, so we are doing a DNA analysis with the local IISER team,” Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Shantipriya Pandey told PTI.

The Forest Department has also collected urine sample and three strands of hair from the feline for analysis, besides blood stains and saliva samples from the place of attack to determine whether this was the same animal which killed the girl or involved in the earlier attack on a boy a month ago. In case the captured animal is found to be the one which attacked the girl, Pandey said it will be retained in the zoo as it has tasted human

Unless the DNA analysis report is out, which could take a week, the authorities cannot exactly determine which animal had attacked as the pattern of attack on the girl was also suspected to be of a bear’s as her scalp had been ripped off. Meanwhile, the Forest Department has recommended some short and long term measures to contain attacks, which include setting up a 24×7 wildlife outpost at the seventh mile to monitor the movement of animals in that location.

This is aimed at sharing information with the temple officials, security staff and others to alert pilgrims on time, including keeping a tranquilising team and a rescue van on standby. Further, Pandey noted that the department has recommended restrictions on movement of pilgrims by foot in the evening as animals in Tirumala are mostly nocturnal.

Increasing manpower at every 20 metres, training veterinary staff who can recognise animals and others are some more recommendations. Long-term measures include creating animal passage ways and various crossing points after incorporating expert opinion. According to Pandey, though leopards are usually child lifters, she said such incidents did not occur much in Tirumala.