Resident sees wild animal feeding on guard dog in field, forest officials say beast spotted in field most likely to be hyena; pugmarks to be analysed for confirmation
Resident sees wild animal feeding on guard dog in field, forest officials say beast spotted in field most likely to be hyena; pugmarks to be analysed for confirmation
|
| Forest officials take an impression of the pugmarks of the beast. Pics/Atul Marwadi |
The otherwise quiet area of Boradewasti received a morning shocker after Vitthal Borade, a resident, spotted a leopard quietly enjoying his morning breakfast, a guard dog, in his corn field. He was rooted to the spot and before he could stomach what he was seeing, the animal disappeared.
Vittthal called his nephew Vaibhav and informed him about the incident. Speaking to MiD DAY, Vaibhav said, "Two months ago, there was a buzz about a leopard in Moshi town. But this is for the first time that we have seen it lurking in the farm. It's quite shocking. We have informed the forest department about the incident."u00a0
Forest officials said it was more likely to be a hyena."We have collected a pugmark specimen. We showed pictures of wild animals and the villagers pointed out to a picture of a hyena and confirmed that they had seen the animal," said Range Forest Officer M N Hazare. "We collected the samples which will be sent to Zoological Survey of India for verification. We feel it is a hyena but in case it turns out to be a leopard or a tiger, we have to follow a procedure. In case of tiger or a leopard, we report the matter to the office of Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) in Nagpur. The chief warden has the authority in such cases to give final orders."
