Wayanad: The Forest Department has confirmed the presence of a leopard in a human habitation at Arivayal near here after CCTV cameras installed by the department captured images of the animal.

Officials said the leopard, on Saturday, hunted a dog and partially devoured it, triggering protests by local residents who demanded the immediate installation of cage traps and the capture of the animal at the earliest.

However, Forest Department officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Onmanorama that dogs form part of the leopard’s natural prey base and that such attacks are not unusual when dogs stray into forest areas or when leopards venture into human settlements.

Officials said the situation becomes a cause for concern only if the animal enters residential compounds, lifts cattle from cowsheds, or poses a direct threat to humans. “In such cases, the leopard can be trapped and translocated,” an official said.

Babu Arivayal, a resident of Beenachi near Arivayal, said the area is surrounded by plantations that provide ideal cover for big cats. He recalled that a black panther had earlier been captured by the Forest Department from the same forest-like zone.

He pointed out that the over 500-acre Beenachi Estate, owned by the Madhya Pradesh government, though officially a coffee plantation, resembles a jungle due to poor maintenance, with dense undergrowth in several stretches. He urged the Forest Department to direct local bodies to use their powers to ensure plantation owners clear excessive vegetation.

Meanwhile, officials said the department had issued advisories in the first week of November during the mating season of big cats, warning residents to protect domestic animals for the next three months due to the likelihood of increased attacks.

Recently, CCTV footage showing a leopard attacking a cat at Mandad near Muttil went viral on social media. Residents of Mandad have also staged protests, demanding the installation of a cage trap to capture the animal.