Leopard enters residential area in Shadnagar

A five-year-old male leopard wandered into a residential area in Patel Road of Shadnagar, barely 40 km from the city, and triggered panic among the local populace.

Local residents first saw the leopard sleeping calmly on the terrace of a building, following which they alerted the police, who in turn sought help from the Forest Department.

After receiving information from the Forest Divisional Officer, Shadnagar, about the leopard ‘hiding on the roof of a house’ near the Shadnagar railway station, and “causing distress to local residents”, Nehru Zoological Park Curator N. Kshitija sent the zoo rescue team rushing to the



spot.

The team, headed by the zoo veterinarian MA Hakeem, tranquilized the leopard, which they found sleeping below the staircase in a house. Once the dart hit him, the animal went into the kitchen where it remained before it dozed off.

“We found no external injuries,” the zoo officials said, adding that the animal was shifted to the Nehru Zoological Park for observation as per instructions given by the higher officials of the Forest Department.

The condition of the leopard was stable and he would be kept under observation of the zoo’s veterinary team for the next 48 hours, officials said.