These days the residents of Jodipathar village under Chandragiri forest range in Gajapati district are spending sleepless nights due to the fear of a leopard.
The panic-stricken villagers have claimed that a student of the village has captured the visuals of a leopard moving around the village.
“It was 11.45 pm when I completed my study. When I came out of our house, I could see a tiger-like animal prowling in the village. I captured its movements in my mobile phone,” said Purushottam Mandal, a student.
It is suspected that the big cat might have strayed into the village in search of food.
However, the villagers have been in fear for the last two days.
After seeing the video, Chandragiri forest range officer Subash Behera confirmed that the animal sighted in the village is a leopard.
“The animal is not a royal Bengal tiger. It is a leopard that sneaked from the nearby Lakhari sanctuary into the village. There are leopards in Lakhari sanctuary. I have sent a team to take stock of the situation. Later, I will go to the village and suitable steps will be taken."