Forest dept sets up cage to catch leopard in Bengaluru

Repeated sightings of leopards have kept the Bengaluru Urban forest officials on their toes, with authorities keeping a watch on the areas near the fringes of the Hesaraghatta grassland.

A CCTV camera clip of two leopards walking through the front yard of a house in Mavallipura village on January 23 has led to panic among the villagers. "Naturally, people are worried about safety. We have deployed a cage and told the residents to stay alert," an official said.

Big cat trapped

Meanwhile, a leopard was trapped by forest officials last week in the southern part of the city. "A young leopard was trapped and rescued near Vatika Layout in Jigani. The animal has been released into a reserved forest," the official added.

The damage to green cover, fragmentation of forests, and conversion of agricultural land into layouts has contributed to an increase in the number of leopard sightings and incursions into urban areas in the last few years.