Camera traps installed at 10 locations to track leopard movement in Erode

The Forest Department has installed camera traps at 10 locations in villages bordering the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) to monitor the movement of a leopard that injured a calf in Kanakkampalayam village in the T.N. Palayam Forest Range of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division on May 30.

According to officials, the surveillance exercise is being carried out on the instructions of the Deputy Director of the Sathyamangalam Forest Division after the leopard, believed to have strayed from the adjoining forest, attacked a calf tethered on a farm in the village. Kanakkampalayam falls under the Kondayampalayam beat of the Bungalowpudur forest section in the T.N. Palayam Forest Range.

Forest personnel have been deployed to track the animal’s movement, while camera traps have been installed at locations identified as potential leopard corridors. Officials said monitoring would continue until the leopard’s movement pattern is clearly established.

The latest incident adds to a series of livestock depredation cases reported this year from villages on the fringes of the STR. Several cattle kills attributed to leopards have been reported in settlements bordering forest areas, raising concern among farmers who depend on livestock for their livelihood. The department has advised cattle owners to keep livestock in secure enclosures at night and to promptly inform forest officials of leopard sightings or fresh cattle kills. Officials added that awareness campaigns and field surveillance have been intensified in vulnerable villages.