Operation Leopard: Second big cat caught in Tirupati; TTD arms pilgrims with sticks for safety

Tirumala: Under Operation Leopard, the second big cat was trapped on Wednesday night in Tirupati.

Forest officials had set up cage at Tirupati and they got success when a five-year-old male leopard was entrapped at 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

This is the third leopard caught by forest officials in the last 50 days. On August 14, a 5-year-old female leopard was trapped. In June, a leopard cub was trapped after a three-year-old boy was badly injured when a leopard pounced on him near the 7th mile along the Alipiri-Tirumala pedestrian route.

This is the second big cat caught within a week near the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple area. It is the same place where the six-year-old girl was killed. The girl had gone missing while she was trekking with her parents on the Tirumala-Alipiri footpath route. Later her body was found in the forests.

According to the Wildlife DFO Satish, two leopards were trapped within 500 meters in the same location. They are not sure if this animal killed the girl. The big cat will be shifted to Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park.

A team of doctors will take blood samples of the wild cat and check hasit had consumed human flesh. They will take blood samples and examine the animal to find out whether it is the same animal that killed the girl. Based on the findings, a decision will be taken by the TTD on its release into the forests.

Speaking to the media, TTD chairman Bhumana Karnukar Reddy said to stop trolling on social media on providing wooden sticks to the pilgrims. "This is an idea suggested by the forest department in a way to protect themselves from animal attack if any. It does'nt mean that we are not working. Around 100 members from forest department and TTD are working 24/7 to trap the animals," said TTD chairman.

The forest department has set up around 320 camera traps to track the leopard's movements. Three cages were set up in the forest area, in which two leopards were trapped. The forest teams also found a sloth bear wandering and are trying to trap. Drone camera's are also brought by the officials to track the wild cats movements.

Days after the girl's death, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) began measures to avoid animal movements in the pedestrian route. On Wednesday evening, pilgrims trekking in both footpathways were given wooden sticks to keep themselves safe from wild animal attacks.

The TTD has invited an expert team from Srisailam to conduct a comprehensive survey to track the leopard movements on the Tirumala hill shrine.

Other measures:

Parents trekking with children below 12 years will be only allowed from 5 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Tags are given to children to track them if missing.

The elderly persons will be allowed to trek only till 10 pm.

No feeding food for deer or any animals on the pedestrian routes.

Strict action will also be taken against the food vendors across the pedestrian stretch if they throw away leftovers in the forest area.

TTD to install 500 cameras across the pedestrian stretch, and drones will be used if necessary.

Display boards and videos on animal attack awareness will be set up at Gali Gopuram, 7th mile, and Alipiri areas.

Wildlife outposts, including doctors and animal trackers, will be deployed 24/7.

Focusing lights will be set up across the pedestrian stretch during the night.

Wooden sticks to the pilgrims to protect themselves.

Every group of 100 devotees will have a security guard.