Leopard chases motorbike on road, pounces on raider in Tirthahalli

June 8, 2017

Shivamogga, Jun 8: A 46-year-old man was injured when a leopard chased his motorbike on road and attacked him near Hullathi-Dattarajapura village near the Shettyhalli wildlife sanctuary in Tirthahalli taluk of Shivamogga district.

The victim, Manjunath, a resident of Poralukoppa village, was returning home with his son Chethan. The leopard chased the bike and pounced on Manjunath. However, he managed to escape by accelerating the bike. He sustained injuries to his right leg and right elbow, and was admitted to a primary health centre in Konandur village.

Leopard sightings near human habitats have been reported regularly near Hullathi-Dattarajapura, Lingapura, Triyambakapura and Kannangi villages, all located on the outskirts of the wildlife sanctuary. In February, a leopard chased a biker in a similar manner near Lingapura.

Meanwhile, residents of Andige in Sorab taluk claimed to have seen two leopards in an agricultural field on the outskirts of the village on Tuesday evening. Forest Department officials were alerted immediately, but though the personnel conducted a thorough search, they could not find any big cats. They requested the villagers not to venture into their fields at night to operate irrigation pump sets.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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