A third leopard has been captured on the footpath area leading to the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala, reports PTI. The animal was caught near the Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple on the way to Tirumala.
It was caught within three days of the second one, following two wild animal attacks on children recently. On August 11, a leopard mauled a six-year-old girl to death on the Alipiri footpath route to Tirumala temple.
It was caught by the forest department on August 14 in one of the cages near Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple.
“We have captured a third leopard near Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, the same place where the second was caught. This is a male leopard, aged about five years,” Tirupati divisional forest officer (DFO) A Srinivasulu told PTI.
The same protocol is being followed with the captured leopards. The big cat will be quarantined for up to 10 days at Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (Tirupati zoo) and subjected to DNA analysis to check if had consumed human flesh.
The DNA report is still awaited for the second leopard, and analysis of both will ascertain which one attacked the minor girl recently.
Srinivasulu further said the department will continue to monitor animal movement near the footpath leading to Tirumala.
The first leopard, captured after an attack on a boy, was released about 40 km away in Bakarapeta. Earlier, on June 22, a three-year-old boy, who was trekking to Tirumala along with his parents, was attacked and injured by a leopard along the Alipiri footpath.
Following the incident, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD) which manages the affairs of the famous hill shrine, decided to allow pilgrims with children aged below 15 years from 5 am to 2 pm only to trek on both the footpath routes.