Nuapada: The leopard, which was on a spree of killing cattle in villages adjacent to Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary in Odisha’s Nuapada, has been captured in the trap camera installed in Nuapada Sadar forest range.
As per reports, the leopard was straying into villages in the area and hunting the domestic animals. It had also mauled an old woman in Jalamadhei village in the sanctuary. Following repeated complaints about the leopard’s intrusion, the Forest department had installed 13 trap cameras in the Sunabeda sanctuary.
The Forest officials, on checking the feed of the cameras, found a leopard captured in the cameras installed in Jalamadhei village. They suspected that it might be the same leopard that has been hunting in the villages.
In the latest case, an ox was left to graze in the forest on Tuesday evening and its mauled carcass was found the following morning.
The big cat has already claimed 12 lives, including six calves and a cow at Powertala and Taria Mahuabhata villages near the sanctuary, this month. A 65-year-old woman of Jalamadhei village was also mauled to death when she had gone to collect firewood near her home on March 23. The leopard had devoured two more calves at Silaribahara on March 27.
