On Sunday, January 18, 2026, forest officials reported that a young civet cat trapped in a chicken cage in Pichalavandlapalle village, near Horsley Hills in Annamayya district, was safely released into the nearby forest. Sankara, a 45-year-old weaver who keeps chickens behind his house, found the civet cat stuck in his poultry cage on the morning of January 17. The civet had entered the cage during the night in search of fowl and could not escape. Sankara took the animal out but was warned by a friend that keeping an endangered wild animal is illegal. He then released the civet into the forest. Photos of the trapped cat were shared on social media, catching public attention and alerting the Forest Department. Forest Range Officer G. Jayapradada Rao said, "The version given by the weaver appears convincing. After a thorough inquiry and ground report by our beat officers, we let off Sankara. There is absolutely no scope for any poaching attempt in this incident." The civet cat, also called the toddy cat, is culturally important in the Rayalaseema region. Its civer oil is linked to rituals at the Lord Venkateswara temple in Tirumala. Rao added that civet sightings have increased in villages near Horsley Hills forests recently.