Fear gripped several forest-fringe villages of Tavanampalle and Irala mandals of Chittoor district after a series of nighttime attacks on cattle by an unidentified wild animal. Over the past fortnight, a few cattle were found mauled to death, leading to some villagers believing that it could be the handiwork of a leopard or two.
Residents observe that the animal strikes late at night after people fall asleep and disappears without leaving a trace. The impact now is such that the residents have stopped going out after dark and started securing their livestock and dogs within the house premises.
Some of the villages facing the threat are BC Colony, Tavanampalle, Aragonda, Gurukuvaripalle, Sarakallu, Echaneri, Cherlopalle, Boyapalle, Vengampalle, Putramaddi, Kullampalle, Mittur, Guravanampalle, Thottlopalle, Kaminayanapalle and Chengampalle in these two mandals. Incidentally, the forested hills in this region are known for frequent leopard movements and crop raiding by wild elephants.
A team of forest officials from Chittoor visited the affected villages and installed camera traps to identify the animal. Despite search, neither the team nor the villagers could find any clues such as pugmarks, which further escalated tension among the public.
A shepherd in the locality said that a few days ago, his dog, which guarded his sheep as they grazed, was killed in a mysterious manner. Since then, he stopped taking the sheep close to the forest zone.
A forest official said proposals would be sent for providing compensation to the villagers who lost their cattle in the attack.
Published – December 19, 2025 06:50 pm IST
