Growl! Cheetah family sends chills down villagers’ spines

A family of Cheetahs sighted near a hamlet in the Bodi forest area has scared the villagers.

The group consisting a male, a female and two cubs was sighted near the Siraikkadu village which falls under the Athiyuthu forest area.  Dhanalakshmi, a resident of the tribal village, said the cheetahs were staying in caves which were 500 metres from our settlement, for the last 10 days. They were preying on cattle and deer.  “If they do not find food, they may enter our village” she feared. “As many as 45 families are living in the area and we are rearing sheep and keeping dogs as pets. So the forest department should erect electric fence to protect us from the wild animals, she appealed.

On the sighting of the cats, Meenakshi, the Assistant Conservator of Forests (Training), said Cheetahs used to mark their boundaries once in six months. They might have come to the area since the forest is dense there, she said.

“They will go away after some time” she added.

However, action would be taken to erect barriers like electric fencing through District Forest Officer. Cameras will also be fixed to monitor the movement of the cheetahs, she added.