WII notes predator's attack on livestocks

Our Correspondent
Senapati , Jan 13: Following the attack on domestic goats by unknown predator/s at Senapati, the Senapati Forest Department in association with Wildlife Institute of India visited the site of attack in Senapati district yesterday.
According to Stephen Kadena, proprietor of the farm where the attack took place, 5 goats went missing on December 29 last year followed by another 8 in the next four days.
The carcasses of 3 goats and a dog were found on January 1 this year with the same canine marks, he added.
Addressing the media, D John Sha, MFS, Divisional Forest Officer, Senapati Forest Division stated that the Forest Department received reports of the slaughter of domestic goats by unknown predator/s in an area some 8 kms from district headquarters, Senapati.
In response to the report, the combined team of District Forest officials and Wildlife Institute of India conducted spot enquiry at the site where the livestock were killed, he added.
As per report, 13 domestic goats went missing since December 29 last year but could identify only three carcasses of the goats at the lower portion of the hillock including one dog which belonged to the same owner.
The main objective of the visit of the team was to identify the predator/s that slaughtered the livestock.
Samples were also collected by the visiting team and handed over to Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun for further identification.
According to a research scholar from Wildlife Institute of India, the presence of leopard is not ruled out with the recent inferno at the Dzuko range.
Later, a camera trap was also installed at a place near the remains of the carcasses to take stock of the situation and determin what kind of carnivores could be present in the area.