Telangana: Leopard sightings trigger panic in Nagarkurnool, Wanaparthy

Ramulu, a farmer along with a couple of shepherds from the village, was heading to his fields. Suddenly they noticed the movement of a leopard and immediately tried to capture the images in a mobile.

Nagarkurnool: Panic prevailed in Pollepally village under Bijnapally mandal in the district after local farmers spotted a leopard in the agriculture fields on Friday evening.

Ramulu, a farmer along with a couple of shepherds from the village, was heading to his fields. Suddenly they noticed the movement of a leopard and immediately tried to capture the images in a mobile. They shared the information with other residents in the village, following which the forest officials were alerted.

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Forest Range Officer Parvez Ahmed said generally leopards from neighbouring Gangaram forests move in the region in search of stray dogs and cattle.

Soon after the villagers alerted the department, a team was sent to inspect the area. Unfortunately, the visuals captured in the mobile by the farmer were not clear and it could not be ascertained whether it was a leopard or any other animal, he said.

“Our team scanned the entire village area on Saturday morning but did not notice any pug marks. There could be a possibility of the marks getting washed away due to rains and we have stationed the team in the village to continue the search,” Parvez Ahmed said.

Leopard spotted in Wanaparthy too

In another incident in the neighbouring Wanaparthy district, an employee from electricity department spotted a leopard at Karnethanda near Khilaghanpur on Thursday night.

After attending to a complaint, the electrician was heading back home. During the ride, he noticed a leopard crossing the road. Generally, leopards move from forest to other in the night in search of prey. There was no untoward incident as the leopard vanished into the forest and the electrician returned home safely, said Forest Range Officer Manjula.