Search on for wild cats in Madhya Pradesh village

Calcutta News.Net
Sunday 4th January, 2009 (IANS)

A team of forest officials has been deputed to trace wild cats in the Tarned village of Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district after a leopard was killed by the villagers there.

The villagers had Friday killed a leopard which injured at least six people, including a woman during the past few days.

'A day after a leopard was killed by a mob, the villagers have reported sighting a female wild cat and a cub Saturday. A team of forest officials has been pressed into service in the area to trace the animals,' Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Raghvendra Shrivastava told IANS.

'We have around 12-14 leopards in the jungles of Mandav, Dhamnod and Tanda. We presume that lack of water and prey must have driven the wild cats into the village,' he said.

However, it is not yet known how the leopard reached a village where there is no forest belt.

'Apart from the officials of Dhar, a rescue team from Indore equipped with dart guns and sedatives to tranquilise the wild animals has been deputed in the village. They are also carrying a cage,' Shrivastava said.

He said a trap, consisting of small cattle as bait, has been laid to catch the wild cats. A strict vigil will also be kept during the night.

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