Berhampur (Odisha), Mar 22 (PTI) Panic gripped among villagers in Patrapur block of Odisha’s Ganjam district after a video of a suspected leopard sitting atop a nearby hill went viral on social media.
Forest officials, however, said they did not find any pug mark or receive any report of cattle being lifted by the big cat in the area when they conducted an inquiry on Sunday.
Camera traps have been set up to identify the animal the villagers were talking about.
A group of children reportedly sighted the animal sitting on the hilltop near Sunakhala village, while they were playing close to the area on Saturday afternoon. They have made a video of it, which went viral on social media, the officials said.
“After getting the information, our team rushed to the spot to conduct an inquiry,” said Sunny Khokhar, divisional forest officer (DFO) Berhampur.
“During the inquiry, they did not find pug marks of the leopard in the area. There was also no complaint of cattle lifting,” he said.
Still, the forest department kept a strict vigil in the area and alerted villagers not to tease the animal, if found again, he said.
Forest officials said they have installed two camera traps in the area to identify the wild animal and its movement. More camera traps are planned to be installed there.
“We have urged the villagers not to panic and to be vigilant about the movement of the animal. If they notice the big cat or any other wild animal, they should immediately inform the forest department,” said Manoj Kumar Patra, forest range officer, Samantiapalli.
Forest officials have also advised the villages not to spread rumours without verifying facts about the presence of the wild animals. PTI BBM NN
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