Leopard Hunt: TTD sets traps after attack on 3-year-old

Tirumala: Hours after a three-year-old boy was badly injured after a leopard pounced on him near the 7th mile along the Alipiri-Tirumala pedestrian route, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) forest department has managed to follow the movement of the animal and confirmed that it was a leopard cub.

TTD officials have started making arrangements to catch the leopard and have placed camera traps at all possible places in the forest.

The animal was found wandering on the route from Alipiri Galigopuram to Narasimhaswamy temple in the Seshachalam forests. While keeping track of the animal’s movements, the officials are making arrangements to make devotees walk in groups on the pedestrian route.

“We will be sending 200 devotees as a group from Galigopuram on the Alipiri walkway after 7 pm. One TTD vigilance guard will accompany them. We will also make sure that the children in the group are kept secured in the middle,” said TTD EO AV Dharma Reddy.

On Thursday night, the boy who was walking with his grandfather, while his parents were ahead, was pounced upon and dragged by the animal. He was dragged into the Seshachalam forests. Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam vigilance guard and II Town police who were at the pedestrian route immediately conducted rescue operations, making a loud noise to startle the animal.

The boy was rescued near a repeater station where the leopard left him and ran away. On Friday morning, Dharma Reddy and the forest officials inspected the spot where the boy was rescued.

“The boy is out of danger and is currently under observation. At the time of the attack, the leopard left the boy after the teams made a loud noise and flashed lights from the repeater station,” said the EO.

“The devotees will be allowed on the Srivari Mettu route till 6 pm and on the Alipiri route till 10 pm only. We are working on safety measures for those travelling on two-wheelers on the ghat roads after 6 pm,” he added.