About three-years-old, the female panther, which had already eaten up a calf and attempted on a few occasions to take away stray dogs in and around Muala and Vankua villages, was reportedly caught in the wee hours of Monday, though reported to the department only late on Tuesday night.

According to official information, the panther was reportedly sighted since August in and around the villages, located near the panther sanctuary in neighbouring Panchmahal district. The department, however, got official information only on September 28 when farmer Vithalbhai Parmar reported that one of his calves had been taken away by the animal.

``Since skelton of the calf and a couple of other stray animals like dogs were found from different areas -- which confirmed the attacks by panther -- a cage was set up in the woods for the past one week,'' range officer Janak Jhala told Express Newsline, adding that initially a dog was kept as a bait. Failing to trap the animal, the forest officials kept a goat as a bait.

This yielded result as the panther was trapped late on Monday night (or the next morning). Parmar will receive an official compensation of Rs 1,500 in a week's time, Jhala said.

The panther, which had hurt itself by hitting against iron bars of the cage, was getting medical treatment from Vadodara zoo veterinary doctor I C Patel.

The trapped panther will be sent to Ahmedabad or Junagadh zoo in a day or two, Jhala said. He added that panthers were straying into human settlement due to its rise in population in the State, as acknowledged by the officials.

The range officer said at least four panthers were trapped in jungles of the Panchmahals and Vadodara district and one was killed by the police and forest officials in the Chhotaudepur area in the past one year. ``There are still unconfirmed reports at present about movements of another panther in and around a couple of villages in Halol taluka of Panchmahal district,'' he added.

Meanwhile, the trapped panther is receiving visitors at its temporary residence at the Van Chetna Kendra, located on the national highway near the city airport. The whole operation is supervised by deputy conservator of forest N L Desai and conservator Rajeeva, the forest range officer added.