Tirumala: Female leopard, suspected to have killed 6-year-old, caught in Seshachalam forests
According to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) forest officials, one leopard was trapped near the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple area, where the girl was killed
By Sri Lakshmi Muttevi Published on 14 Aug 2023 10:49 AM IST
Tirumala: Forty-eight hours after a six-year-old girl was mauled to death, the forest department officials caught a female leopard on Sunday night in Seshachalam. Three cages were setup by the forest department to trap the big cat.
The 5-year-old animal is suspected of having killed the girl. The leopard has been shifted to SV Zoological Park for medical tests.
A female leopard aged 4-5 years has been trapped by the forest dept in #Tirumala forests. The wild cat will be in SV Zoological Park to examine if this has attacked the six-year-old.
ā SriLakshmi Muttevi (@SriLakshmi_10) August 14, 2023
Based on findings, a decision will be taken by the TTD on its release.
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On Monday, another leopard was spotted by the pilgrims on the walkway at Namalagavi near Lakshmi Narasimha Temple. The wild cat fled away into the forests after hearing loud noises from the devotees.
According to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) forest officials, one leopard was trapped between Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple- Ghanta Mandapam area, where the girl was killed. However, they are not sure if this animal killed the girl. TTD EO Dharma Reddy visited the spot.
"Team of doctors will take blood samples of the wild cat. They will examine the animal to find out whether it is the same animal that killed the girl. We need to check whether she is a human-eating animal. Based on the findings, a decision will be taken by the TTD on its release into the forests," said a forest official.
On August 11 night, a six-year-old girl went missing on a pedestrian route. Later her body was found in the jungle. The incident occurred when a family from the Nellore district was walking on the Alipiri-Tirumala pedestrian route on Friday afternoon.
The six-year-old, who was accompanying her father Dinesh and mother, Sasikala went missing and was found dead on Saturday early morning with animal attack injuries on her body near Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple area.
Soon after the incident, forest officials laid traps to catch the animal. On Sunday, the movement of leopards was sighted at five places including three places near Alipiri to Galigopuram, at Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy(LNS) temple, and the 38th turning point on Saturday night.
TTD later decided not to allow children below 15 years of age to trek in both the Alipiri and Srivari Mettu routes in Tirumala after 2 p.m. They are allowed to trek with their parents only from 5 am to 2 pm. TTD police have also started giving security tags to children who are trekking with their parents on the Alipiri-Tirumala pedestrian route. Tags are given at 7th Mile. These tags will help to track the location if the child is missing.
TTD management has also decided that two-wheelers will only be allowed from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on both ghat roads. These two decisions will remain in force until further orders from the TTD board.
TD has also started sending a group of 100 people along with a security guard on the pedestrian route.
A similar incident happened on June 24, 2022, when a three-year-old boy was attacked and dragged by a young leopard near the 7th mile along the Alipiri-Tirumala pedestrian route. Fortunately, the immediate rescue action by the TTD personnel helped in saving the boy alive.
