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A goat that was kept as bait to trap the animal which is suspected to have killed a man at Lower Toongsoong in Darjeeling recently was found dead after being attacked from outside its cage.
The goat, partially eaten, was found dead inside the cage early on Friday. The trap had been set up on the suspicion that Chengba Bhutia, 47, might have been attacked and killed by a leopard which had been seen near the area earlier.
Basave Raj Hulichi, the divisional forest officer (wildlife I) said: “The cage (in picture by Suman Tamang) is so designed that it is difficult for the goat to be attacked. Nevertheless, it has been attacked probably from outside the cage.”
Local people said dogs were normally getting trapped in the cage on a daily basis ever since it was set up.
A woman whose residence is just above the road where the cage was placed said she had heard the goat bleating on Thursday night. “Since the noise was disturbing, I decided to come out of the house and shoo away the dogs with stones. However, when I came out of the house, I found that the goat had already died and the dogs were still there. I don’t know whether it was these dogs which ate up the goat.”
Text: Vivek Chhetri |
