Leopard strays into residential area in Indore in search of prey, injures several people in its bid to escape

Leopard strays into residential area in Indore in search of prey, injures several people in its bid to escape

Story by Sumesh Rajan
Mumbai: March 10, 2018

Chaos prevailed in Indore's Palhar Nagar area on March 9 morning when a leopard strayed into the locality. The sacred residents locked themselves up inside their homes and contacted the forest department officials.

The wild cat was initially spotted entering an under-construction building and later took refuge inside a bungalow, before it was drawn out and captured by forest officials. Apparently, scared of the din created by the people who had gathered around, the leopard leapt over the net and attacked a forest department official, catching him in the rear and hurling him on the ground. The hoots turned into screams as the leopard snarled at the crowd, baring its fangs and chased others close by. After that it darted into a house nearby. The terrified occupants of the house locked themselves inside a room, while the forest officials too efforts to tranquilize the wild cat. While two shots missed the target, the third one wearied down the big cat. The rescue operation lasted over three hours.

The forest officials then moved the leopard into a steel cage and carried it to the zoo.

Palhar Nagar, known for its stray dog menace, is surrounded by agricultural land, forest area and open stretches. Forest officials say that the leopard could wandered into the residential area to prey on the stray dogs.