Panic grip residents as leopard on the prowl attacks dog

Panic gripped residents of Madukkarai, near here, when they saw a leopard attacking adog in the early hours of Friday, police said.

The visuals of the attack and earlier incidents have gone viral in social media.

At least 20 goats and five dogs were killed by the big cat in the last one year, though the forest department personnel denied the presence of any leopard in the area, the police said.

Adding to the fear of straying wild elephants, the movement of the leopard has made the residentsanxious.

The incident, wherein the leopard was seen attacking adog at 1 AM on Friday near the house of a governmenttransport driver, made them even scarier, they said.

The residents managed to scare the leopard away while the dog with deep injury in the neck is battling forlife, they said.

The leopard then entered a nearby house and killed three out of 17 goats, they said.

The residents fear the leopard may kill them too, as the human habitats are on the foothill with easy access to wildlife, they added.

Meanwhile, forest officials visited the spot and noticed the pugmarks of the leopard. They placed a cage to trap and cameras to monitor its movement.