Indonesian Villagers Snare Javanese Leopard

CIAMIS, KOMPAS.com – Villagers in West Java have had enough of this Javanese leopard that had been terrorizing their domestic animals for over two months.

They decided it was time to snare the leopard in Ciamis Regency, West Java.

“[The villagers] trapped the leopard at the foothills of Mount Sawal on Thursday, June 25,” said Asna Maulana Sidiq, the villager who set the trap for the leopard. “We have been seeking the leopard as he has been preying on the villagers’ livestock, among them chickens and goats.”

Asna added that the leopard is especially troublesome due to its indiscriminate appetite.

“The leopard has also preyed on our hunting dogs, which we have been trained to ward off wild boars.”

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"The big cat has preyed on eight dogs. We noticed they have been disappearing on a regular basis along with the livestock.”

Setting the trap

Asna and the other villagers decided to set the trap near the pens where the leopard preyed on the livestock and dogs.

“We set the traps 20 meters away from the pens, and 100 meters away from the nearest house,” he recalled. “We used a dog as bait to lure the leopard into the trap.”

Asna noted though that the leopard never entered the villagers’ houses.

Repeat offender

A team from the Ciamis branch of the Natural Resources Conservation Agency [BKSDA] arrived at the scene of the leopard’s capture. The team and Asna then found another twist.

“The leopard has a collar on his neck. It has a microchip and a GPS transmitter,” Asna said. “[The BKSDA] said that the leopard had already been caught a year ago in a physically ill condition. They then released him once he recuperated.”

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