MF AHMAD
Daltonganj, Feb 14: The fear of leopards continue to prevail in the Mahuadanr range of the Palamu Tiger Reserve (PTR) as they have killed two domestic animals in the last two days.
The chief conservator of forests and field director of PTR Kumar Ashutosh said today, “Let me make it very clear in the beginning that leopards of this range have no remote truck with the solo leopard of the Garhwa district. These leopards are not remotely of Garhwa. They are just leopards as they ought to be.”
He added that the killing by leopards in the Mahuadnr range is a very natural phenomenon and is not alarming in the sense that these leopards are just killing to feed themselves.
The field director said, “Naina’s location of Netarhat is such that leopards are present. The leopards come in the camera traps too.”
Mahuadanr ranger Brinda Pandey told lagatar24.com that they have warned the cattle owners not to leave their animals in the jungles where leopards are on the prowl.
He said that there is no incident of any mishap with humans by the leopards in this range to date. He has asked them to keep their cattle home at night and while grazing keep watch on them too as leopards may not be any far.
He said he and his PTR personnel have eye sighted leopards in the range many times. It has never posed any problem to any human being he reminded.
On being asked if this Mahuadnr range has a prey base to which Pandey said we have a good number of the wild boars and a modest number of the barking deer but when leopards get domestic animals easily they prefer to prey these cattle more to wild boars etc.
