Date:14/09/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/09/14/stories/2007091462440300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Leopard family spotted near Bannerghatta park

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: Students and faculty of Mount St. Joseph group of institutions near Kallena Agrahara off Bannerghatta Main Road experienced some anxious hours on Thursday following reports of leopard sighting. Vanashree Vipin Singh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bannerghatta National Park (BNP), said the Forest Department was searching for an adult female and two cubs spotted on the campus, which houses among others Loyola Primary and Loyola Secondary Schools.

The department’s staff have set up a trap — an iron cage with a goat inside — near a mango grove.

William Sequeira, Rector of the Mount St. Joseph Institutions, told The Hindu that the first sign of leopard movement was noticed in the western border of the 50-acre campus. Residents of Trinity Ashram, which adjoins the institution, saw a female leopard on their campus early on Monday and chased it away.

Mr. Sequeira said the forest authorities inspected the area on Tuesday and asked them to report any further sighting. On Wednesday night, a person passing across Kothanur Dinne Road saw a leopard in the playground of Loyola Primary school. On Thursday morning, pug marks of three leopards were seen prominently near water puddles.

Concern

The presence of the big cats in the vicinity has alarmed local people. Apart from the two schools, the group runs a residential Jesuit Training College, an Industrial Training Institute and the Dhayanashrama Retreat School. Some 1,000 students reside in the premises. The institution also has a cowshed, a potential draw for the carnivores. “We are very worried about the leopards’ presence,” Mr. Sequeira said.