Kasaragod: Forest officials on Wednesday, March 26, captured a second leopard that had been preying on pet and homeless dogs at Kolathur village in Bedadka grama panchayat for the past year, said Kasaragod Forest Range Officer C V Vinod Kumar.

The trapped leopard, a five-year-old male, was caught in a cage trap set up at Avalangal near Niduvot in Perladukkam ward. A month earlier, on February 24, officials had used a dog as bait to capture a five-year-old female leopard at the exact location.

Perladukkam ward member Gopalakrishnan M said the cage was placed near a massive cave that can accommodate around 100 people. "Forest officials set up the trap in front of the cave after villagers spotted pugmarks nearby," he said.

District Forest Officer (DFO) K Ashraf confirmed that the pugmarks belonged to two leopards. "The two captured leopards could be a mating pair," said Vinod Kumar. "With this, we can safely say the two leopards prowling Kolathur village have been caught."

The female leopard’s capture came at a time when residents were growing restless over the frequent attacks on dogs. Afterward, forest officials installed another cage at the same location. "For the past month, they brought food for the bait dog daily and checked its health," said Gopalakrishnan. Camera traps set up nearby captured footage of the second leopard lurking around but hesitating to enter the cage.

Over the following weeks, several homeless dogs went missing in the area, said the panchayat member. Then, in the early hours of Wednesday, the male leopard finally took the bait. The moment it stepped inside, the cage door snapped shut. The dog, housed in a separate internal cage, remained unharmed.

By 7.30 am, forest officials arrived at Niduvot to find the leopard trapped. Unlike the previous capture, which attracted a crowd of around 2,000 people, officials kept the operation discreet. Villagers only learned about the capture when the leopard was transported away in a truck.

The female leopard had been relocated to the Bantaje Reserve Forest, on the Kerala-Karnataka border near Belloor grama panchayat. However, the move triggered protests led by BJP panchayat president Sreedhara M, who accused the Forest Department of endangering residents. Officials had to install camera traps along the Bantaje forest border to monitor any possible return.

"This time, they’ve taken the truck towards Bandaduka in the east," said Gopalakrishnan, hinting at another potential relocation site.