Another leopard trapped in Tirumala

It was not that the devotees fight the wild animals with hand sticks but scientific studies revealed that any animal would backpedal if you hold a staff in hand, he stated.

Tirumala: Yet another leopard, the fifth in three months, has been successfully trapped by forest officials here on Wednesday night.

The Operation Leopard programme launched by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam along with the Forest department on Seshachalam hills for the safety of the devotees climbing the Tirumala hills on foot appears to be a big success.

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The trap cameras showed that leopard was seen prowling between Narasimha Swamy temple and Seventh milestone and immediately a trap was set at the place to cage the fifth leopard.

However, the search for the wild animals would continue in the area, according to officials. For sometime, devotees climbing the Tirumala hills on foot are in the grip of fear after leopard injured a boy Koushik and later mauled to death another young girl Lakshita which saw the TTD immediately swing into action, according top priority to devotees through a series of meetings leading to crucial decisions.

One of the decisions was to provide the devotees with a staff which drew mixed reaction. Replying to criticism, TTD chairman Bhumana Karunakar Reddy said that the staff was given only to instill confidence in the devotees.

It was not that the devotees fight the wild animals with hand sticks but scientific studies revealed that any animal would backpedal if you hold a staff in hand, he stated.

The practice of carrying a staff by people while going into the fields or in the forest is in vogue for thousands of years, he pointed out. The staff would be given at Alipiri and taken back at the Sri Narasimha Swamy temple, he added.