Tirumala (Andhra Pradesh): A leopard was captured by Andhra Pradesh forest department personnel on Friday in the Mamandoor Mitta area near the Seventh Mile point, adjacent to the First Ghat road in Tirumala. Recently, the leopard attacked a three-year-old boy in the Tirumala forest area when he was on a pilgrimage with his family.
Additional principal chief conservator of forests wildlife (APCCF — wildlife) Shanti Priya Pandey said the big cat was captured around 10.45 pm on Friday. "The wild animal is a sub-adult male leopard. It was captured at Mamandoor Mitta area near the Seventh Mile point, adjacent to the First Ghat road in the Tirumala forest area," said Pandey. The forest department personnel laid a trap at the place where the boy was attacked by the leopard. The minor boy was attacked near the Anjaneya Swamy idol on the Alipiri footpath. The boy was with his grandfather and his parents were walking some distance away from him.
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The boy was rescued and immediately taken to Padmavathi Paediatric Hospital. The injured kid was treated by a team of doctors. He was stated to be out of danger and had not suffered nerve or spinal injury. The boy sustained bite injuries on his neck in the attack. In the wake of the leopard attack, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) the governing body of the Sri Venkateswara temple in Tirupati on Friday decided to allow devotees only in groups of 200. Security guards will escort the devotees' group walking on foot after 7 pm.
Following the attack on a minor boy by the leopard, the authorities installed CCTV cameras in a radius of 150 metres on the Alipiri route to track down the movement of the wild beast. After observing the movement of the leopard, two cages at two different locations were kept to catch the leopard. Officials said that the leopard entered the cage around 10.45 pm on Friday night. TTD Executive Officer Dharma Reddy has also monitored the entire operation. "The mother leopard was also roaming in the area. The movement of the mother leopard was also captured on the camera," he said.
