Panthers roaming Tirupati Ghat section

A "half-dead" dog is waiting to be eaten by 2 panthers and thereby make the passage to Tirumala from Tirupati more safer.

Employees of the Dewaswom have seen 2 panthers;a mother and her cub roaming he ghat section between Tirupati and Tirumala.The animals have already injured two little girls.

One employee has seen the panther jumping the fence of a deer park in the area after having a feast on one of the inmates of the park.

Forest officials have laid a trap with a live dog as bait.Yesterday night one of the panthers came close to the cage but did not enter.The dog has another day to tell the story!

Please click on the link to read more......

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/03/stor...0363792000.htm

It is unfortunate that a fear psychosis is being created. It is their natural habitat and we are intruding into it. The road passes through the wildlife sanctuary. So one should not raise a hue and cry about the presence of wild animals. There is hardly a break in the traffic in that road even in the night. The deer park is in violation to the widlife laws and is created there for the amusement of people. If a leopard comes to the enclosure to hunt deers, then is it the fault of the leopard?

One should try to find out whether the prey base is sufficient. Most often one doesn't find sufficient prey and hence wander around. Leopards normally don't attack kids. However, if a kid is squatting or defecating etc ie. in a low posture, the leopard may mistake it for a prey.
Sabyasachi

Please refer to this news article for further details:

Panther attack shuts Tirupati walkway
OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Telegraph
Hyderabad, Aug. 2: Tirupati temple authorities have closed night treks up a 10km wooded path to the shrine after a female panther pounced on visitors twice in the past week.

Yesterday, the panther attacked a 10-year-old girl near a deer park, around 3km from the top, but was scared away by other devotees.

Last Wednesday, the same panther attacked a seven-year-old girl at the same spot, but the child’s father grabbed her before the wild cat could maul the kid.

Following the attacks, both close to midnight, the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam (TTD), which manages the Andhra Pradesh shrine, ordered the walkway to be closed from 4pm to 6am.

“Since the majority of devotees walk to the Tirumala shrine, we want to secure the path before it is thrown open once again,” TTD executive officer I.Y.R. Krishna Rao said.

The restriction will stay in place for a week. The road motorists take to the temple would, as usual, remain closed from midnight till 3 in the morning, Rao added.

TTD chairman D.K. Adikeshavulu met forest minister P. Ramachandra Reddy this morning to discuss precautionary measures needed to secure the walkway, which passes through the Sri Venkateswara National Wild Life Sanctuary.

Apart from some 22 panthers, the sanctuary is home to tigers, bears and elephants released from circuses across the country.

The minister later said the deer park would be permanently shifted. “The 270 deer in the park, built for the entertainment of devotees, attract the wild animals,” he said.

Hitesh Malhotra, principal chief conservator of forests (wild life), who also attended the morning meeting, said the TTD had been advised to put up high fences along the walkway.

Rao said the TTD had plans to organise aerial surveys during the day besides patrolling by mobile squads of police and forest officials to instill confidence among devotees.
The source article can be found here: http://www.telegraphindia.com/110080...y_12763878.jsp

One of the animal has been captured yesterday and it will be released in Srisailam after getting the animal to recuperate since it is injured.

The cub is still to be captured.

Click on the link to read more.....

http://www.hindu.com/2010/08/08/stor...0860362000.htm

Regards