Seven hours after it was spotted in Hanumanthpura area in Tumakuru on Sunday, a leopard was trapped by a animal rescue team. It was spotted in the backyard of a bungalow in Hanumanthpura.
The leopard was caught after it was shot with a tranquiliser gun by a rescue team and released in Devarayanapura forest area, reports the Times of India.
Clarifying that it was not the same leopard that was found in Bengaluru two weeks ago and that eventually escaped Bannerghatta National Park, Divisional forest officer(DFO) Amarnath said that the leopard spotted in Tumakuru was a two-year-ol, but the one spotted in Bengaluru was an eight-year-old.
“It was certainly not the one that escaped from the rescue centre of Bannerghatta in Bengaluru. That was an eight year-old leopard but this was just a two-year-old,”said DFO Amarnath.
The forest officials launched the search operation after being informed of the leopard by a Hanumanthpura resident, who spotted the leopard at 8 am.
However, by the time they arrived the leopard had vanished. Four hours after they arrived they spotted it hiding behind a bush. It tried to escape on seeing a large group of people, reported TOI.
“We tried to lock it in a cage, but it managed to push its way outside and leap to another bush. Even there, it pushed through and leapt out... those were anxious moments,” Amarnath said.
The leopard reportedly went on an attacking spree even as it was shot with a couple of tranquilizer darts and this caused a tense drama. However it was caught without any injury later.
“This was a risky operation. The leopard was found in the garden of a bungalow. Since it was a residential area, it was important to catch him as early as possible. There was the risk of the animal attacking those living in the area. We captured him after injecting him with a sedative,” said Amaranath.