A leopard, which created panic among about 10 villages in and around Mettupalayam in the district, was found trapped in a cage, today.
The carnivore was on the prowl for the last few months and had become a nightmare to villagers as it entered human habitat and agriculture fields, coming under Sirumugai Forest range, officials said.
Based on the complaints, the forest department officials had kept cages at various places to trap it.
District Forest Officer D Venkatesh instructed the officials to release the four-year-old leopard into the jungle at Thengumarada from where it had strayed, they said.
The leopard had crossed a rivulet, which was dry to reach the forest range, and could not return as it in spate now, they said.
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