Nandyal: Killer leopard caught, shifted to Tirupati zoo

ANANTAPUR. Anantapur: A team of the forest department on Friday succeeded in capturing the leopard that had attacked and killed former deputy sarpanch Sheikh Mehrunbi of Pacharla in Sirivella mandal of Nandyal district on the outskirts of her village. Villages in the Pacharla area were living in terror, especially after the leopard carried away the head of the former deputy sarpanch when locals tried to rescue Mehrunbi.

The forest department launched a campaign to capture the leopard after it became a man-eater. After the leopard was sighted, teams of forest personnel set up cages at various places in the Pacharla area. Finally, the leopard entered a cage near the toll gate of Pacharla. The forest department did not release the leopard back into the dense forest as it had started attacking humans and had become a man-eater. The department placed the cage with the leopard in a vehicle and took it to the Tirupati zoo. Incidentally, the Forest Department has also kept another leopard in Tirupati zoo, which had attacked and killed a boy in Alipiri a few months ago.