CHITWAN, Aug 12: The Division Forest Office has deployed a thermal drone to monitor and capture two leopards believed to be roaming in and around human settlements.
A joint team from the Division Forest Office and the National Trust for Nature Conservation has been using the drone for the past two days to search bushes around the Agriculture and Forestry University, where the leopards are believed to be hiding.
Efforts to capture the animals began after leopards were repeatedly spotted over the past two months in bushes in Bharatpur Metropolitan City 15 and the university premises.
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According to office information officer Devi Prasad Poudel, capturing the leopards has been difficult because they remain hidden during the day and emerge at night. The team is using a thermal drone capable of detecting body heat during daytime searches. CCTV cameras have also been installed at five locations, while cage traps have been placed at three sites and leg traps at three others.
Technical teams from the Division Forest Office, Chitwan, and the National Trust for Nature Conservation are involved in the operation. The cage traps have been positioned at locations suitable for the animals.
Poudel said one adult leopard and one cub are currently believed to be in the area. A cub has already been captured from Bharatpur 15 and taken to the National Trust for Nature Conservation for safekeeping.
The traps are relocated based on leopard footprints.
Forest officer Sudip Hamal said leopards have been spotted twice in the residential area of the university’s cattle research programme at its Rampur campus. CCTV footage recorded one leopard a week ago and two leopards on Sunday night.
Although a thermal drone was subsequently deployed, the team has not yet located the animals. Cage and leg traps have also been installed in the area.
One cage trap has been placed near the Forestry Campus and another at the Abinas Poultry premises in Bharatpur 15. Cameras have been installed at several locations where leopard movement has been detected.
Meanwhile, two CCTV cameras have been installed at a power station in Aaptari, Bharatpur 11, after employees reported seeing a tiger in the area. The tiger is also reported to have killed a local goat. Officials are monitoring the area through the cameras, Hamal said.
