Fear psychosis has gripped the villagers of Siddegowdana Doddi near Maddur owing to the frequent leopard sightings.
Local residents say big cats, at least two, are on the prowl in the area for the last several weeks and of them, one killed three sheep, in the early hours of Monday.
The leopard entered the cattle-shed belonging to Manchaiah and Gowramma and attacked the herd. It killed three sheep, left two at the shed and fled with the third one, Mr. Manchaiah, a farmer, said. The killing has resulted in a loss of over ₹35,000, he said.
Frequent sightings
According to the villagers, they fear venturing out in their farms owing to frequent sighting of leopard pug marks. Incidents of leopards killing sheep have also been reported on several occasions around Siddegowdana Doddi.
Repeated requests to the Forest Department to end the leopard menace in the region have gone in vain, they said.
Forest officials said that the leopards might have entered the village from nearby forest areas or from the neighbouring Ramanagaram district.
Upon receiving the information, a few forest personnel rushed to the village on Monday.
They visited the cattle-shed, inspected the carcasses of sheep, scanned the surrounding areas, and confirmed that leopards were on the prowl. They assured the villagers of trapping the animals by tranquillising them or by placing cages with live baits. Farmers, especially women and children, have been advised not to venture out alone during nights.
In case of unavoidable circumstances, they should take at least one more person with them, keep the lights on and make noise while walking around, forest personnel have said.
