Fear comes true: Leopard spotted in basement of Greater Noida society

GREATER NOIDA: A leopard was spotted hiding in the basement of Ajnara Le Garden society in Greater Noida (west) on Tuesday afternoon, triggering a panic among the 1,500 families living there.
A forest department team that reached the society in the evening launched a search for the animal, but could not trace it. Officials, who scanned videos taken by a few guards of the society, confirmed it was a leopard.
Only a week ago - on December 27 - a guard had spotted an animal "with spots like a leopard" scaling a wall in a part of the society that is still under construction and disappearing in the darkness. Forest officials had then said the animal was a civet cat.
On Tuesday afternoon, a team led by district forest officer Pramod Srivastava searched every nook and corner of the society. "We had reached Ajnara Le Garden by late afternoon. The team tried to rescue the animal, but could not trace it. A forest department team from Meerut is still on the society campus," he added.
After the sighting on December 27, residents had been asked to stay away from the basement because the maintenance feared that the animal could be hiding there. Most of it unlit, the basement is used by the residents to park their cars.
A couple of days ago, the warning about a "wild animal" was renewed in the society. Since the residents did not have any pictures, the forest department was not informed.
"We guess it's the same leopard that had been spotted by a guard a week ago. We are still trying to find out where this leopard came from. But 4 years ago, a leopard had strayed into Sadullapur village near Ecotech 3 in Greater Noida. It was rescued and released into the Shivalik forest range," the DFO said.
Late on Tuesday evening, a wildlife rescue team from Agar reached the society.
A trap was laid in the area to catch the animal, Srivastava said.