Fake video of leopard circulated in social media in Sircilla

A fake video showing a leopard in Manala forest triggered panic among villagers in Rajanna-Sircilla district after it was widely circulated on WhatsApp and social media. Though a leopard had killed a cow in Lingampet village a week earlier, officials clarified that the viral video was fake and unrelated to Manala forest.

Rajanna-Sircilla: A fake video of a leopard moving in Manala forest triggered panic among the people of nearby villages. A video of a leopard moving in Manala forest was circulated in the local WhatsApp groups during the last few days.

On Wednesday, it was circulated that a leopard approached a cow herd near Bugga Rajeshwara Swamy temple located in between Rudrangi-Manala on Tuesday night.

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Labourers working in nearby brick kiln units also expressed doubts over the movement of a leopard. As the video of the leopard went viral on various social media groups, forest officials visited the spot and searched for pug marks but found nothing.

Chandurthi deputy range officer, Raghavendra Rao said that after coming to know about the movement of leopard in Manala forest, they visited the spot but did not find pug marks or any other evidence of leopard moving in the area.

Seven days ago, a leopard killed a cow near Lingampet village. The same one might have moved in Manala forest area, he suspected. Commenting on the video being circulated on social media, he made it clear that it was a fake video and it did not belong to Manala forest region.