Leopard scare near Shamshabad; Forest officials suspect a hyena

A team of forest officials reached the spot and scanned the area, but could not find pug marks of a leopard.

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed in Ghansmiyaguda, Shamshabad mandal on Sunday after a few dogs and calf were attacked by a wild animal. While villagers felt it was a leopard attack, Forest officials said it could be a hyena or a large dog.

Noticing that a few stray dogs and calf suffered bite injuries in an agriculture field, local residents alerted forest officials.

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A team of forest officials reached the spot and scanned the area, but could not find pug marks of a leopard.

They suspect it could have been either be a hyena or a large dog breed. Leopards generally attack on the neck of the victims but here the stray dogs and the calf suffered stomach injuries, a Forest official said.

These days, a few pet owners were releasing a few large dogs in the forest areas for different reasons.

Due to scarcity of food, these dogs tend to attack other dogs or cattle, the official said.

“However, we will not take any chances. Patrolling will be intensified and if required, camera traps will be installed in the area,” he added. It may be recalled that last month, a leopard had strayed on to the Shamshabad airport premise.

Five cages were set up to trap the leopard and after four days, it was captured. After the veterinary team at the Nehru Zoo Park examined the leopard’s health, it was shifted to Amrabad and released into the reserve.