Mangaluru: People in the Paladka area of Moodbidri, located on the outskirts of the city, are spending sleepless nights following reports of a leopard frequenting the village for prey.

People have been living with fear for the past one week as there are reports of leopards carrying away a dogs and cattle being attacked.

The village of Kemar, Kadthimar is also lifeless in fear – in vicinity with 20 houses – frightened villagers do not frequent out because of the leopard neither do they let their children to school.

On last Monday, two cows belonging to Sudhakar Poojary of Kemar, Kadthimar were attacked. One of them was killed in the attack and another was injured. In another incident, a dog belonging to Hosamane Nellaka has been injured on its neck.

A Paladka resident Praveen has spotted a leopard while he was riding a bike.Another resident has claimed that he has spotted two leopards on a rock in the village. Sundar Naik from Kemar, Kadthimar has lost a dog to the leopard.

There are several other similar reports that have made the villagers live with fear. Due to which even the night vigil at the farms and the visits to the farms for irrigation purposes have been completely stopped now.

Moreover Kinnigoli area has also facing the same terror three months back which was contained later with the aid of CCTV cameras.

B D Dinesh, area forest officer in Moodbidri confirmed that the leopard that has being spotted could be the mother of the leopard caught last year at Kallamandkur.

We have taken measures to catch the leopard, especially with the help of the traps. More forest personnel will also be deployed. We are also filing report in time to speed up the compensation process.” he added.

The residents urged all possible authorities to relieve them from the horror.