Mangaluru: Over the past month, many dogs had gone missing from homes in Adyarpadavu on the outskirts.
In one of the cases, a dog had been dragged away right from inside the kennel. On Monday earlier this week, a dog in the house of Gerald D’Souza was attacked and injured by what was suspected to be a leopard.
Because of regular reports being received from different places about leopards being on the prowl, the residents also thought the same. They informed the forest personnel, who arrived and studied the clues left behind.
Their observation was the most unexpected. The paw-prints were found to be those of a hyena – whose presence was most unheard of in the region. They have assured to set a cage used for leopards so that it can be captured.
The Indian striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena), called choTTepili in Tulu, kattekiruba in Kannada and suNevagaT in Konkani. Its waist is believed to be weak and so it finds it difficult to run. Because of its shaky walk, it is called a choTTepili (limping tiger) in Tulu,