Leopard trapped in Sikkim released into the wild

A leopard that had killed over half a dozen cattle was trapped in Sikkim’s Soreng district and released into the wild, a forest official said.

Officials of the Soreng wildlife range had been receiving numerous complaints from residents of several villages in the district about the killing of domestic animals.

Acting upon the complaints, the staff of Soreng Wildlife Range installed camera traps at various locations which revealed that an adult leopard (Panthera pardus) was the hunter.

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The leopard said to have killed over half a dozen cattle and several dogs and cats at Timburbong village, was trapped inside a bulky cage installed by the staff of the wildlife range with the help of local people near the village.

At around midnight on May 27, the animal was trapped inside the cage while trying to pull away the bait that had been laid for its capture.

The next morning when Range Officer Ashish Lama along with his team reached the spot, it was learnt that the captured animal was an adult male leopard.

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The leopard was examined by veterinarians and it was found to be healthy and showed no signs of injury, the official said.

On directions from the authorities of the forest department, the captured leopard was released into the wild, the official said.