Leopard caught in snare, rescued at Kaggalipura

The Forest department, on Sunday morning, rescued a six-year-old male leopard caught in a snare at Kaggalipura range, Bengaluru Urban division.

According to forest officials, the local residents saw the leopard in the bushes at around 4 am at Kethamanahalli village near the Big Banyan tree. They immediately informed the Forest department. The forest staff rushed to the spot along with veterinarians and darters from the Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) and by 5.30 am, they were able to tranquilise and capture the leopard. 

The staff saw that the animal was caught in a crude wire snare which residents had kept to capture wild boars. The wandering leopard may have got caught in it accidentally. It was struggling to get out of it. The animal was tranquilised and shifted to the BBP for examination. The male leopard is healthy and weighs around 90 kg. It has not suffered any injury in the incident, said Dipika Bajpai, the Bengaluru Urban deputy conservator of forests.  The animal was, later in the day, released into the Bannerghatta National Park, which already houses a healthy population of wild animals, including leopards and tigers.

Bajpai said that leopards have always co-existed with humans and are found wandering on the outskirts of the city during night hours. There is nothing to panic as these animals are shy, she said.