It’s For You

Indian authorities have come up with a new method for dealing with leopards that have been entering local villages in search of a snack. Rather than letting the invaders gnaw on a villager or two, they have come up with something completely new and high tech. They call the leopards on their cell phones.

The wild cats in the state of Gujarat often roam into villages near forests in search of food, say officials, adding that this results in attacks on people.

But rather than use methods such as live bait like goats tied to trees to lure the leopards, which then fall into large pits dug by guards, officials say they have found a safer method to trap the cats.

"The moos of a cow, bleating of a goat from the phone has proved effective to trap leopards," said D. Vasani, a senior forest official in Gujarat. "This trick works."

Vasani said forest guards have downloaded the sounds of over a dozen animals as ringtones on their mobiles which they attach to speakers and fix behind a cage.

They then play the ringtone continuously for up to two hours until the curious leopard appears and moves into the cage looking for its easy meal.

The drawback to the plan should be obvious. The leopards are keeping the cell phones. So now they have given the cats a better method of communication - with free nights and weekends. Pretty soon the leopards will turn the table on the humans and bait their own traps using Carrot Top recordings. When the villagers arrive to attack what they think is the comedian, they'll be captured and eaten.