Forest department fixes camera traps to capture leopard movement near Ambur

The Forest Department has set up three camera traps at Pallur and Panathoppu villages that come under Ambur forest range in Tirupattur to capture leopard movement in the area on Friday.

Forest officials said that farmers in the villages  on the fringes of Sanakuppam Reserve Forest (RF) in the Ambur range take their cattle for grazing along the forest boundaries.

In recent weeks, farmers and residents have complained to local forest officials that they noticed a leopard-like animal.

No movement so far

“We have fixed cameras in a few spots where residents said they saw the animal.  No leopard movement has been captured in the camera so far. We have asked the residents to stay indoors during night,” D. Babu, forest range officer (Ambur) told The Hindu.

Forest officials said that Sanakuppam RF, spread over 7,000 hectares, is the biggest of the seven RFs in the Ambur forest range that has an area of around 13,500 hectares within its limits. The Sanakuppam RF is a continuous tract of forests that are connected to Kaundinya Wildlife Sanctuary in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh.

A team of forest officials led by Mr. Babu inspected the suspected spots in these villages. Forest officials did not find any trails of pugmarks. They also said that chances of leopard movement in the area seems to be slim as the spot does not have any hiding area like caves for the predator.

Nevertheless, surveillance has been increased to prevent any untoward incidents. The RF is located along the Tamil Nadu - Andhra Pradesh border.

Forest officials said that a three-year-old male leopard was released at Madakadappa RF after he was tranquilized from his hideout near a school campus in Tirupattur town in 2024.

Advisory to residents

Residents were advised to travel in small groups to farmlands and private companies for work. Farmers in the area were asked to properly fence their cattle sheds with adequate lighting facilities.

A helpline number (9786254998) has been set up to alert forest officials about any movement of elusive predators in the area.

Published - June 14, 2025 01:05 am IST