Tirupati, Aug 28 (PTI) In the wake of wild animal attacks on children at Tirumala in Andhra Pradesh, another leopard, fourth one, was captured in the wee hours of Monday, said a forest official.

The male leopard, estimated to be about five years old, was captured at the seventh mile near Anjaneya Swamy statue around 4 AM, the official said.

Also Read | US Military Chopper Crash Update: Marine Corps Aircraft Crashes During Multi-Nation Training Exercise on Melville Island in Australia; Three Killed, 20 Injured.

The forest department has shifted the leopard to Sri Venkateswara Zoological Park (Tirupati Zoo).

"This leopard had been eluding capture since August 17. It used to come near the trap and leave as it had seen the earlier leopards getting captured. So, we took several measures to trap it," Tirupati district forest officer (DFO) A Srinivasulu told PTI.

Also Read | IOCL Recruitment 2023: Vacancies Notified for 490 Apprentice and Other Posts, Apply Online at iocl.com Till September 10.

Flashes were deactivated from cameras and animal scents were sprayed to remove human smell near the trap site, he said.

As the last three captured leopards, all male, were of the same age, forest officials are suspecting if they were siblings from the same mother.

Meanwhile, Srinivasulu confirmed that it was a leopard which had killed a minor girl recently at Tirumala.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)