JOIN USMysuru forest officials trap leopard after 17-hour scare
A leopard kept K R Nagar town in Mysuru district on edge for almost 17 hours, attacking a bike rider and a forester, before it was trapped by forest personnel on Friday morning.
As the big cat, that was spotted in Kanaka Nagar on Mullur Road on Thursday evening, kept darting through the streets and bushes, curious residents gathered on the rooftops, giving the police a tough time.
A team of 15 forest personnel, led by Range Forest Officer (RFO) M R Rashmi and Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) Seema, launched a combing operation for the six-year-old female leopard, and trapped it around 11.45 am on Friday.
DCF Seema told DH that Dr Wasim, a veterinary officer from Chamarajendra Zoological Garden of Mysuru, who is also a sharpshooter, and another veterinarian from the zoo Dr Prashanth, darted a tranquiliser at the leopard weighing 40 kg, and trapped it in a cage.
“The leopard, suspected to have come from the adjoining Nagarahole forest, took cover in the lantana bushes in the locality. It will be released into Nagarahole forest on Saturday morning,” she said.
Seema said, “The leopard, which attacked the biker, only managed to tear his shirt. But he suffered minor injuries after falling off his bike during the attack. Forester Manjunath, who tried to prevent the leopard from attacking the biker, received minor scratches when the leopard turned on him. The biker and Manjunath were treated at the government hospital in KR Nagar.”
Seema said that so far, leopards were only spotted on the fringes of KR Nagar and cages were placed there. “It is for the first time a leopard entered KR Nagar town. It is the first leopard captured in KR Nagar range this year,” she said.
Conservator of Forests M Malathi Priya lauded the forest personnel for the swift operation in rescuing the leopard.
As a precaution, a holiday for educational institutions in the vicinity.