Residents relieved as camera footage confirms dog, not leopard, killed farmer’s lamb at village in Kerala’s Kannur

Residents of Poyyamala near Kottiyor-Kelakam in Kannur, Kerala, breathed a sigh of relief after footage confirmed that a dog, not a leopard, was responsible for killing a farmer’s lamb on Thursday, confirming the Forest department’s earlier conclusion.

According to the images taken from the camera traps set by the Forest Department, the lamb belonging to Karakkattu Joseph was bitten to death by a domestic or wild dog. The incident, which occurred a few days ago, caused panic in the village after it was initially thought that a leopard was behind the attack.

Following the incident, residents and local representatives staged a protest claiming it was a leopard attack, briefly detaining forest officials and demanding immediate action. However, based on examination of bite marks and claw marks, authorities assessed that the predator was not a leopard but could have been a dog or possibly a wolf. Some residents rejected this finding and intensified the protest, leading the department to set up camera traps to establish the facts once and for all.

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The footage later confirmed the presence of a dog in the area and ruled out the involvement of a wild predator. Forest officials said they are trained to determine the nature of such attacks by analyzing claw marks, the size of the prey and the pattern of attack.

Kannur District Forest Officer (DFO) S. Vysakh urged the public to avoid speculations and avoid reaching unscientific conclusions that could lead to unnecessary fear and misunderstanding.