Leopard intrudes into villageDevpayli, captured & released

Chandrapur: A full grown leopard that intruded into a house in village Devpayli was captured from a house after two and a half hours of on Friday morning. Later, after a fitness test, the beast was released back into the forest.
Rescue workers of Talodhi forest range had to cordon off the entire house with nets for the safety of hundreds of onlookers as they undertook a daredevil caging operation. The beast had intruded Devpayli village, 12km from Talodhi (Balapur), in the wee hours when most of the villagers were asleep.
Those who saw the feline on the road raised an alarm and soon, many rushed out of their homes with sticks and cudgels. Villagers tried to chase the animal back into the forest, but it went deep into the village. On seeing the crowd, the leopard jumped into the courtyard of one Sukhdev Pendam and later crept into the bathroom through a gap between the tiles and the wall.
While the terrified house owner locked the bathroom from outside, locals informed forest officials. A team of rescue workers led by round officer KD Garmale rushed to the spot and began the rescue operation under the guidance of RFO Abhilasha Sontakke as hundreds of villagers watched from streets and rooftops.
Personnel from Talohi police station were also summoned to control the crowd. The rescue team cordoned off the entire house with a safety net. A cage was fixed at the entrance of the bathroom as rescue workers scared the beast.
After two and half hours, the animal entered the trap cage and was captured. Later, the three and a half years old leopard was immediately taken to the Talodhi range office. It was examined by Bramhapuri’s livestock development officer Dr Shirish Ramteke for physical fitness. After the beast was declared fit, foresters in consultation with higher-ups decided to release the animal back into the wild at undisclosed location.