Forest Department intensifies efforts to track animal involved in killing daily-wage worker in Hasanur

The Forest Department has intensified efforts to track the animal suspected to have killed a 36-year-old daily-wage workers near Hasanur, with camera traps installed at four locations, drones deployed for surveillance, and night patrolling stepped up in the forest-fringe areas.

The partially consumed body of V. Periyasamy of Bungalow Thotti was found along a stream near the forest fringes under the Hasanur Range of the Hasanur Forest Division of the Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) on Sunday (October 4, 2026) morning. While residents claim that the animal involved was a leopard, citing a series of cattle kills in the villages, the Forest Department is yet to confirm the species.

Yogesh Kumar Garg, Deputy Director of the STR and District Forest Officer, Hasanur Forest Division, told The Hindu that the measures were aimed at monitoring animal movement and tracking the animal involved in the incident. A veterinary doctor was on standby to attend to any emergency and follow the prescribed Standard Operating Procedure (SoP), he said.

Mr. Garg said residents of the forest-fringe villages had been advised not to venture out after sunset. A liquor shop in the area had also been asked to close before 7 p.m. Mobile phone numbers of forest staff had been provided to residents to contact them in case of an emergency.

Residents concerned

Residents of Centre Thotti, Arepalayam, Ongalwadi, Hasanur, and Bungalow Thotti, all located along the forest boundary, have for long reported cattle kills attributed to leopards and demanded concrete measures to prevent human-wildlife conflict. They have also raised concerns over wild animals moving close to human habitations. The death of Mr. Periyasamy has renewed their demand for closer monitoring of vulnerable stretches along the forest boundary and prompt action when wild animals are sighted near the villages.