Surat: Forest officials along with villagers of Hanumantiya in Tapi district have been camping on the outskirts of the village since Friday night after a leopard killed a three-year-old girl. Apart from human surveillance, the forest department is also using trap cameras to find the elusive leopard.
On Monday, the forest department installed more trap cameras and also increased the surveillance team size. The team will be camping in the village for the next seven days in order to locate the leopard.
Anand Kumar, deputy conservator of forest, Tapi, said: “Initially we had set up 10 cages and as many night-vision trap cameras. On Monday five more trap cameras were put up at places where the leopard’s pugmarks were found.
“The village is located on the bank of Jhakri river and is surrounded by sugarcane farms. Our teams are trying their best to rescue the leopard and we hope it will be caged soon.”
“The forest department also asked locals of nearby villages to inform us if they get any clue about the big cat,” he added.
Sanjay Gamit, sarpanch of the Hanumantiya group gram panchayat said: “This is not the first time that leopards are seen here. Around five years ago a leopard was spotted in the village. It was rescued after a weeklong exercise by the forest department. Back then there was no casualty but this time a little girl was killed. The Village has around 260 houses and the villagers are doing night patrolling and helping the forest staff.”
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