Wild cat, wilder rumours: Leopard out of sight, but social media keeps panic alive

The elusive leopard on the fringes of Hyderabad has become a source of several rumours and unfounded reports. The reports are viral on social media, creating additional problems for the forest officials who are already worked up over the presence of the feline amid populated areas.

Fictional narratives about the animal, which was first spotted around Chilukur, are doing rounds at a frenzied pace, confounding the residents around Gandipet and leading to fear-mongering.

Photographs and video clips of leopards elsewhere are being circulated in WhatsApp groups, veracity of which is doubtful. Though there were reports of two leopards being spotted at the Research Centre Imarat, a Defence facility in Balapur, around the same time that the animal was spotted at Chilkur, the forest authorities could not find any evidence that supported the claim.

Photograph of a leopard perched on a rocky outcropping was posted on social media a while ago, passing it off as a picture of the same animal which has made Gandipet surroundings its haunt, taken by a villa owner. Upon verification, the villa owner denied that any leopard had been spotted from his building.

One more video clip of a leopard caught in a cage with live bait too has gone viral, with the claim that the animal was finally caught. This too turned out to be an old video clip, with the forest officials refuting any such capture.

The leopard was first spotted at the nursery managed by the Telangana State Medicinal Plants Board close to the Himayatsagar reservoir. The visiting foresters found pug marks and other traces of the animal, confirming its presence there. Disappearance of stray dogs from Manchirevula village added to the signs, spreading fear and panic among the residents of the several gated communities which have come up in the surrounding areas such as Kokapet and Narsingi.

“I am checking the news every now & then to see if the animal has been caught yet. I can exercise caution, but cannot do that with my teenage son, who insists on going out during nights,” said P.Rammohan, a resident of the locality.

The feline’s image was later caught on the CC camera footage of Greyhounds, where pug marks too were found, confirming its movement. Forest Trek Park in Chilkur too had traces of its presence. Later, video clips of the animal crossing over to the Artillery Centre in Golconda emerged, spreading panic in the campus.

“We have reason to believe that the leopard has returned to the Forest Trek Park, because it has abundant prey such as wild boar,” a forest official informed under the condition of anonymity. Trap cages with live bait have been set up at multiple locations, but so far, the feline has not tried to enter one.

“It would risk going for the live bait only when prey in the natural environs is scarce. Meanwhile I urge people not to believe any report unless confirmed by the Forest department. The leopard cannot be caught without out knowledge,” said the officer.