Leopard spotted in village near STR

Erode: After a leopard was spotted near Thalaimalai, a hamlet near Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR), the Erode district forest department has imposed a ban on travel during night time. The forest department has also warned motorists against stopping the vehicle to attend nature's call.
Three people from Coimbatore district, P Kumar, 38, M Srinivasan, 34 and D Jagadeesan, 30, were on their way to Thottampuram village from Coimbatore as part of their tour.When they were near Mavanatham village near Dhimbam Ghat Road, they spotted a fully grown leopard on the road. "We had stopped our journey to take photographs," said Kumar.
When the leopard spotted them, it retreated into the forest. "We immediately alerted Thalaimalai forest officials about the leopard," he added.
After they received a tip-off from the tourists, forest officials alerted Thalaimalai villagers not to use village roads near STR. The officials believe that the leopard might have migrated from Bannarghatta in Karnataka.
The number of tigers have increased from 45 to 62 in the last one year. Similarly, the number of leopards have also increased gradually.
"The exact numbers would be known only after the census," an official said adding that several leopards have been straying from Thalaimalai, Kethesal, Kermalam, Dhimbam, Bannari and Thengumarahada forest ranges. tnn