Leopard rescued in Ooty shifted to Vandaloor Zoo

Udhagamandalam: An injured male leopard that was rescued from the government botanical garden in Ooty recently was shifted to the Vandaloor Zoo in Chennai on Thursday.
According to Saravana Kumar, assistant conservator of forests, Nilgiris division, the six-year-old leopard was very weak with high temperature, dehydrated and not able to stand up when it was rescued on May 16. “It also had two or three seizure attacks.”
After 15 days of treatment at the government veterinary hospital in Ooty, the official said, the animal has recovered to an extent and that it could stand up. The animal was treated by a team comprising Dr Sugumaran, forest veterinarian from Coimbatore, and three other veterinarians with the Animal Husbandry Department.
Dr Kosalan, one of the team members, told TOI, “The leopard is able to stand up now. While it was not having food earlier, it has stated to have meat. The leopard has lost the vision in its right eye due to trauma. Maybe it had a fight with another animal, injuring its head.” The source said the leopard was not fit for hunting, if it was sent back to the forest.
Meanwhile, Dr Boon Allwin, veterinarian with the Vandalooor Zoo, inspected the leopard at the Ooty veterinary hospital on Thursday.