Bahraich, Nov 30 (IANS): Forest authorities in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich district have successfully captured a female leopard believed to be responsible for the deaths of five individuals, including three children.

The forest department had earlier captured a 10-month-old male cub of the same leopard on November 25.

The female leopard was captured in Loniyanpurva village, located at the border of the Motipur forest range of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.

The divisional forest officer of Bahraich, Akashdeep Badhawan, said that the female leopard, estimated to be around 4-5 years old, was found in good health with no apparent injuries or deformities during a medical examination conducted by a veterinary officer from Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.

The leopard, accompanied by her two cubs, had struck fear in the region between August 5 and November 17.

The authorities deployed an array of resources, including 10 strategically placed cages, three thermal drone cameras, two elephants, and field forest teams equipped with dart shooters.

They covered a vast area from the Motipur forest range to the North Kheri Forest division.

The authorities had granted permission to tranquillize the leopard.

“The leopard was caged with the use of advanced GPS (global positioning system)-based technology and followed her trails, including her scat and the remnants of her hunted prey, as the traditional methods of monitoring failed to produce the desired outcome. The position of the cages was altered based on the indicative information elicited due to the application of the innovative strategies,” Badhawan added.

“We have urged the chief wildlife warden of Uttar Pradesh, Anajani Kumar Acharya, to specify the destination for the relocation of the leopard and her cub that have been kept under the safe custody of the forest department. We are now focusing on the second cub, which remains elusive,” he added.