Mandsaur (MP), Dec 17 (PTI) A leopard entered a densely populated area in Madhya Pradesh’s Mandsaur city, prompting forest officials to launch an operation to rescue the big cat, an official said on Wednesday.
The big cat entered the house of forest department staffer Shiv Sharma in Mayur Colony on Tuesday night. It jumped over a wall and sat in the rear side of the house where a cow and a calf were tied.
After being alerted, a team of forest officials captured the male adult leopard by tranquilising it on Wednesday morning.
Sharma’s wife Asha reported that when she woke up in the morning and opened the back kitchen door, she saw a leopard sitting in a corner, not far from the cow and calf. She slammed the door shut and raised an alarm.
Amid the commotion, the leopard escaped and hid in an under-construction house.
Divisional Forest Officer Sanjay Raikwar said that Dr Akash Valmiki and Dr Sumit Patel of their rescue team at Gandhi Sagar were informed. They arrived in Mandsaur and captured the leopard. Officials said the big cat, aged 7-8 years, would be released into the Gandhi Sagar forest.
Raikwar said the leopard had also been spotted in Mandsaur before.
“The leopard may have come here to prey on stray dogs, which are its favourite food,” the official said. It is a huge relief that the leopard did not attack the cow or the calf, he said.
Meanwhile, a hyena was also spotted at night in Yash Nagar, located on the new Collector Road in the town, a forest official said. PTI COR MAS NR
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