Another hunt for leopard, this time in Sector Xu in Greater Noida

NOIDA: Days after a leopard kept a forest department team waiting at Ajnara society in Greater Noida West, residents of Sector Xu in Greater Noida spotted a leopard in the nearby green belt on Sunday. The forest department, along with local police, has launched a search, but the animal remained untraceable on Sunday.
“My team with rescuer Ramesh has been with the forest team in Ajnara and Xu 1. We feel that a single leopard trapped in the city is trying to find its way out via interconnected green belts. We wish it a quiet and safe passage to a protected jungle,” said Kaveri Bhardwaj, founder of Smart Sanctuary, an animal shelter.
Residents said that they saw the leopard sitting in the green belt area, but after people started gathering, the leopard escaped.
“A search operation is on, but we could not find the leopard. The local police has joined the forest team in the search for the animal,” said divisional forest officer P K Shrivastava.
In the past, guards have spotted leopards in human settlements, including in Ajnara society recently.
“We have asked locals to be vigilant and inform us if they spot the leopard again. Locals are asked not to cruise around the green belt area,” added the DFO.
According to the forest department, many rumours about leopard sightings are spreading across the area.
According to animal experts, leopards reside in the Ganga Khadar region of Baghpat-Hastinapur and the Bulandshahr area, and the leopard spotted in Ajnara and now in Sector Xu recently likely strayed from there.
“Four years ago, we rescued a leopard, which had strayed into Sadullapur village near Ecotech 3 in Greater Noida, and released it in its habitat in the Shivalik forest range near the Saharanpur area in Uttar Pradesh,” added the DFO.