Karnataka: Leopard enters kitchen, trapped after 3-hour operation

CHITRADURGA: A leopard that entered a house in Muddappur village of Chitradurga taluk on Saturday morning created panic for a considerable time. Forest officials rescued the big cat, much to the relief of villagers, after a three-hour operation.
The leopard is said to have come from a nearby hilly area. Drama unfolded after it was spotted at the house of S Chidanand, who works as a business correspondent at Karnataka Grameen Vikas Bank (Chitradurga). Chidanand said his wife Netravati woke up to the horror of seeing the big cat entering their house from the back door around 6.30am. “Her scream alerted others. By the time I jumped out of bed, it had entered the kitchen,” he said, adding he latched the front and back doors from outside.
Villagers who had gathered near the house informed forest officers about the incident. “On reaching the house, officials caught the leopard. We are lucky to have escaped unhurt,” Chidanand said.
Chitradurga RFO Sandeep Nayak said after being alerted, they rushed to the spot around 7am with a cage and net. “We covered the front door with the net and placed the cage at the back door. We had a tough time driving the leopard out of the kitchen. When it did, we opened both the doors, and it got entrapped in the cage,” he explained.
The RFO said this was the first incident of a leopard entering a house in their limits. “There are hilly areas like Malapanahalli, Guddadranganahalli, Bidarakeri, Sibar, Tamatakallu in the 10km radius of Muddapur. The leopard must have come from one of them. We had also received complaints from villagers about leopard menace three days ago. Animals from forest and hilly areas keep straying into villages in search of prey. This one must have come for the same reason,” he said.