Jorhat, Oct 23: A clouded leopard was trapped in Jorhat’s Cinnamara Baghdhora area on Thursday night after reportedly preying on domestic animals for several days, prompting local residents to alert the Forest Department.
According to forest officials, a baited cage was set up in the area following complaints that the animal had been hunting cattle and causing concern among residents. The leopard entered the cage to eat the bait, a duck, and was subsequently captured.
The captured animal is a female clouded leopard, estimated to be around two-and-a-half years old. A team from the Jorhat Regional Forest Officer’s office brought the animal to the forest office on Friday.
A forest ranger said the department had received information about the leopard’s movement and attacks on domestic animals over the past week, following which the cage was installed at Cinnamara Baghdhora.
“We set up a baited cage with a duck after receiving information that a clouded leopard had been causing trouble by hunting cattle for the past week. The leopard came to eat the duck and got trapped. It is a female leopard, around two-and-a-half years old. We have informed the higher authorities and will release it wherever we are directed to,” forest ranger Guneshwar Bora said.
The official added that clouded leopards continue to roam in several parts of Jorhat and are generally released in Kaziranga National Park after being captured, subject to departmental instructions.
According to the forest ranger, five clouded leopards have been captured in Jorhat over the past six months since he took charge as range officer.
Earlier, a male leopard that had been straying into human settlements and preying on livestock was captured by the Forest Department at Tilikiam Tea Estate in western Jorhat on July 8.