Leopard pugmarks cause scare near Gandhinagar

AHMEDABAD: There was a scare at Piplaj village near Gandhinagar, when pugmarks of a leopard and a cub were discovered on the outskirts of the village. Piplaj is about 50km from the state capital.
The worried village sarpanch asked villagers to remain indoors at night and to not allow children to move about in the village alone. The sarpanch, Karansinh Vaghela, said, “We saw the pug marks and showed them to the forest department officials, who confirmed that they were of a leopard, who was probably accompanied by a cub.”
“After this, I asked villagers to remain indoors.Residents have been asked not to go out in the fields in the night and even early in the morning,” said Vaghela. He said there was a scare in the village especially due to reports from Chhota Udepur, where a leopard has killed three people.
In November, a leopard wandered into the state secretariat and had to be caged. Forestry officials said that from the pugmark, it appears that the animal is four years old.
Raman Murthy, chief conservator of forests, Gandhinagar, said, “We have received the report and our staff is keeping a vigil in the area and monitoring the leopard’s movements.”
Murthy added, “The village in on the bank of the Sabarmati and there is a forested area on its outskirts. It appears that this is a migrating animal. There have been no attacks on cattle or dogs in the village. The behaviour appears to be normal. The entire stretch of the Sabarmati from the Dharoi dam to the state capital has forested patches on either side, which have wild animals including hyenas and leopards.”