Forest officials trap leopard that entered a house in the Nilgiris

Udhagamandalam: A leopard that entered a house at Pattavayal in Pandalur taluk in the Nilgiris was trapped in a cage by forest officials after a four-hour operation on Tuesday.
Back home after a few days, Rayan got the shock of his life when he heard a growl on opening the front door. The house had remained locked when he was away. He called his neighbour Naushath, who checked the house and found the leopard under a cot. It had entered the house by breaking a window at the rear.

Rayan immediately informed forest officials, following which forest range officer Manoharan and a team of forest guards and watchers rushed to the spot. Local police personnel were also called for assistance.

Tension prevailed at Pattavayal village and local people flocked to the spot to watch the rescue operation.

The forest officials sealed the broken window, but could not proceed beyond that; to tranquillize the leopard, a veterinarian is needed. The Nilgiris district, which has about 54% forest cover and houses the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, does not have a forest veterinarian for the past two years.

The forest officials had no option but to try and capture the animal by placing a cage.

The forest range officer said the door of the room where the leopard was lying was opened and a cage placed at the entrance. The forest officials waited for over four hours for the leopard to come out of the room.

“We did not disturb the animal. We were constantly monitoring it. After four hours the leopard was caught in the cage,” said the forest official. “Keeping the public away was challenging.”

The caged leopard will be brought to the Gudalur division forest office. The animal would be treated for minor wounds it sustained while breaking the glass window. Releasing the leopard into the wild would be decided by higher officials, the forest official said.