Forest Department personnel caged a panther that was roaming the villages near Papanasam in the district on Saturday.
The big cat was preying on dogs, goat, and calves at Anavankudiyiruppu, Tana, and Vembaiahpuram near Papanasam after which the residents complained to the department. When the forest officials visited the spot with sniffer dogs, they found that the panther had attacked domesticated animals. Since stray panthers had been caged at Vembaiahpuram in the past, they kept a cage there with a bait. Another cage was kept at Anavankudiyiruppu after Deputy Director of Ambasamudram Division of Kalakkad – Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve Ilaiyaraja inspected the spots.
As the stray panther was caged at Vembaiahpuram on Saturday, it was taken to the Western Ghats and released. Since the officials believe that another panther was roaming around Anavankudiyiruppu, they are monitoring the cage kept there with a bait.
