Residents of the historic temple town of Melukote in Pandavapura taluk are on high alert at the moment after a leopard invaded a cattle shelter (gosala) in Pandavapura taluk for the first time and killed a young calf early on Wednesday morning. The incident took place next to the famous Sri Cheluvanarayanaswamy Temple and was recorded in a dramatic video on social media and shows the worsening human-wildlife conflict in the area which is spreading and has become a part of a larger human-wildlife conflict.
Midnight Attack on Gosala of Srinivas Iyengar
The attack took place in the private gosala of Srinivas Iyengar. The leopard sneaked into the shelter where cows and calves were kept. The predator lunged at a young calf, dragging it toward the entrance of the shed to feast.
The owners and locals rushed to the site as the panicked cattle began to cry. The leopard was seen on the doorstep of the gosala holding its prey in a video shot from a cell phone, as the crowd was trying to scare it away. The leopard was not affected by the flash of light and shouts from the crowd, and certainly not scared away from the light, as the witnesses were flashing high-intensity torches to scare off the animal. It refused to leave its kill and kept looking at the light before finally backing up into the rocky terrain after eating part of the calf.
Fear Within A Pilgrimage Hub
Melukote is more than a religious site but also a busy place for pilgrims and tourists. The fact that the leopard attacked so close to the main temple and residential areas has sent shock waves through the community. Residents say they worry that the predator, having found an easy source of food in the gosala, might return or, worse still, target children or elderly pilgrims who often walk the hilly paths of the town.
"The boldness of the leopard is terrifying," said a local resident. “Even when we shone torches directly at it, it didn’t run away immediately. But we are afraid to step out of our homes after sunset.”
Requests For Forest Department Intervention
Melukote and Pandavapura have made an appeal to the Karnataka Forest Department following the attack to put cages and camera traps in the vicinity of the hills to catch and track the leopard.
Though the forest department has warned residents about the movement of leopards in the rocky outcrops surrounding Melukote, locals say that these attacks on livestock are increasing. They have asked for more night patrols and better protection for domestic animals and the thousands of devotees who visit the hill shrine each day.
