BENGALURU: CCTV footage of a leopard roaming around Peenya on Saturday has caused many to panic. These people were even more perturbed when they learnt that two days ago, officials found the pug marks of a leopard in the area. In order to confirm the presence of a leopard, the Karnataka forest department is installing camera traps in an 18 km area, where the feline was sighted. Also, five guards will be on night duty and two on morning patrol.
On Saturday morning, when a CCTV grab showed a leopard walking through Blue Jay Layout on Thigalarapalya Main Road in Peenya, locals called up the police who informed the forest department. “We got to know in the morning and my team came to the spot to verify details. Once the leopard’s images are captured on camera traps, a final decision will be taken,” Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru Urban, C Siddaramappa, told TNSE.
Some panicky residents also circulated a video of a leopard walking around. Forest department officials are verifying the authenticity of the video. Some experts claimed that the leopard strayed from Tumkuru, Anekal or Magadi to Peenya. Siddaramappa said that people need not worry. “Leopards have always co- existed with humans and it is possible that the animal has been wandering for days. Leopards are shy nocturnal animals. It is also possible that their habitat has been disturbed and and so it is wandering,” he added. It is not the first time leopards have been sighted in urban areas. In an earlier instance, a leopard was sighted at a private school in Varthur in 2016.