Leopard on the prowl; villagers in grip of fear

Kurnool: The residents of Chippagiri village are in grip of fear after spotting a leopard loitering around their residential areas. One of the villagers, who went out on some work to a nearby place, was returning to his home on Sunday night.

While coming home, he was said to have spotted the big cat. Gripped in fear, he came to the village and informed about the big cat to other villagers. They immediately rushed in that direction in large numbers carrying sticks and flames where the big cat was spotted. But not finding the wild animal, they brought to the notice of the forest officials.

The forest staff began search to locate the wild cat. Speaking to The Hans India, Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) D Chandrasekhar said that they had received information from the villagers about the wild cat.

He said that the forest staff immediately rushed to the village to locate the wild animal. So far, they have not even spotted the pug marks, he added. The DFO further said that the wild cat might have entered the adjacent district Anantapur as the village shares the border.