Camera traps placed as carnivore kills four goats in village near Coimbatore

Forest Department investigates leopard attack on livestock in Coimbatore, places camera traps to identify the carnivore.

The Forest Department placed camera traps after four goats were killed by a carnivore, suspected to be a leopard, at Kempanur village near Thondamuthur in Coimbatore district on Friday.

Sources from the village said the carnivore entered S.K. Farms belonging to a farmer, namely Thangam, at Kempanur, around 2.30 a.m. Friday.

After hearing bleats of the goats, Mr. Thangam switched on lights and rushed to the pen to check on the livestock. He was rearing goats and chicken. 

He found four goats dead with wounds on their neck. Four other goats were found injured and they were examined by a veterinarian on Friday morning, said the sources.

According to farmers from the region, a cow calf was killed by a leopard at Kempanur in October last year. Besides the attack by the carnivore on livestock, several pet dogs and street dogs from the region went missing in the recent past, they said.

District Forest Officer N. Jayaraj said the carnivore would be identified with the help of camera traps.

A team led by Coimbatore Forest Range Officer V. Thirumurugan visited the farm on Friday evening and placed camera traps. The staff examined pugmarks and injuries on the carcasses of the dead and injured goats.