Kasaragod: After a lull of nearly three months, a suspected leopard attack on livestock has been reported from Kasaragod district, reviving fears of growing man-animal conflict.
A 20-day-old calf was found half-eaten after being dragged away from a dairy farm at Velluda in Madikai grama panchayat, around 10 km from Kanhangad town, on Monday night.
Till late February, leopard attacks on domestic animals and stray dogs had been widely reported from various parts of Kasaragod district, particularly in midland areas.
The latest incident occurred at a free-range dairy farm owned by Smitha Kodoth near the Durga Bhagavathy Temple at Velluda.
Farm workers discovered the calf missing while checking the shed around 9 pm, Kodoth said. A search around the premises later led them to a wooded patch inside a private property, where the headless carcass of the calf was found.
Pugmarks, leopard fur and drag marks were found at the scene, though forest officials were yet to confirm the attack officially. “We will have to wait for the forest officials to confirm it after the autopsy,” she said.
The calf was a cross between Holstein-Friesian (HF) and Jersey and was born only 20 days ago. “It was tied near the entrance of the shed,” said Kodoth, who raises around 25 cows and three calves. The three-year-old farm has separate sheds for indigenous cattle and cross-breed cows.
“The farm is secured, but wild animals can still breach the perimeter by jumping in. Sometimes, young bulls do jump out,” she said.
The carcass was found 700 metres from the farm, said Shobana A, a neighbour. “There have been leopard sightings in the area recently. In 2011, forest officials caught a leopard from this same area,” she said.
Earlier, too, chickens at the same farm had been found headless. “But we don’t know what attacked them,” said Kodoth, who lives in Kanhangad but spends much of her daytime at the farm. She said the incident had already been reported to the forest authorities.
“I mailed the request and also called the officer. But he was attending an online meeting,” she said.
