Mysuru, 9 MARCH 

A leopard attacked and killed a calf in the early hours of Sunday at Mahanthalapura village, triggering panic among residents of Chamarajanagar taluk.

According to forest officials, Kamalamma, the owner of the calf, had tethered her cattle in the shed as usual, only to discover one of them dead the next morning. The fear among villagers intensified as, just two days earlier, a leopard had also killed two goats while they were being grazed on the village outskirts.

Upon receiving the information, forest department officials rushed to the village and initiated measures to trap the leopard. However, frustrated villagers criticized the authorities for failing to take action earlier, despite repeated incidents over the past few days. They also demanded compensation for the calf and goats lost in the leopard attack.

In another incident, a tiger attacked and killed cattle in Kuruburahundi village of Gundlupet taluk on Sunday. The tiger pounced on the cow while it was grazing in the fields. The cattle belonged to Nagappa, a local farmer.

Villagers of Kuruburahundi also expressed their anger at the forest department, accusing officials of failing to prevent wild animal attacks in forest-fringe villages.