Day 2: Leopard rescue operation yields no results in Greater Noida as stray dogs land up in cage

GREATER NOIDA: While day two of the leopard rescue operation yielded no results, stray dogs were found getting trapped in the cage set up for the leopard at the Ajnara Le Garden, a society in Greater Noida West in UP.

While four dogs were trapped in the cage by Wednesday afternoon as they got lured to the cage following the bleating of the goat which was kept in it as bait for the leopard, they were released by the forest department team.
"On Tuesday night we kept two chickens to lure the leopard but it was eaten by the stray dogs. Seeing this we bought two goats from Roza Jalalpur village but the plan is still not working out as stray dogs are getting trapped in the cage and then our team continuously has to rush wearing all safety gear to free the dogs," said Pramod Srivastava, district forest officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

The DFO now plans to get the dogs shifted after receiving orders from the Greater Noida Authority which they received on Wednesday evening.
Kaveri Rana Bhardwaj, who runs an animal shelter in Greater Noida, said, "Our team was asked to take these stray dogs. The leopard is roaming in the area putting dogs at risk and dogs are also hindering rescue operations by getting trapped in a cage set for the leopard. Unsterilized dogs if caught shall be sterilized and vaccinated before release. The stray dogs will be taken out on Thursday morning as no dogs were seen due to heavy police."
Over 15 dogs are there inside the under-construction towers.
The stray dogs will be first taken to the animal birth control unit of the Greater Noida Authority for mandatory sterilization and vaccination.
The stray dogs will be kept at the unit for four-five days depending on their healing after sterilization.
If the leopard is not caught till the time they recuperate, it will be then taken to the Smart Sanctuary (Animal Shelter).
Meanwhile, around 25 forest officers, including forest rangers from Meerut and Agra, have been called to help the GB Nagar team in the rescue operation.
The forest rangers are still on the lookout for the leopard but said that there had been no sightings on Wednesday.
"We have got two more cages on Wednesday that were brought from Bulandshahr. The forest rangers are still on the lookout for the leopard as the team has already confirmed the sighting of the leopard on Tuesday. The total number of teams will be reduced and will come shift by shift," added the DFO who was there on the spot till Wednesday afternoon.
Though the sighting of a leopard has been in the news since December 27, after it was confirmed on January 3, cage traps were put up.
"The team got exhausted this whole Wednesday afternoon as after every half an hour a dog got trapped and then we had to rush to rescue it. In a funny incident, not one but two dogs got trapped. The leopard seems to be enjoying this process," said an official from the forest department who was rushing to free the dog.
Residents are scared since the leopard was spotted running around the under-construction towers.
They are also blaming the builder as the tower's construction has been stalled over the last 10 years.
"After the leopard sighting was confirmed, we residents are very scared. Residents are restricted to use the basement area. Many of us who had to go to offices today had booked cabs and availed some other facilities for commuting. If the builder had started the construction, this situation would have been avoided," said Suraj Arora, a resident of the society.
On Wednesday, locals from neighboring areas stood as spectators outside the society since morning, the society residents were holed up in their flats and no deliveries were allowed inside the gated complex.