BENGALURU: After a four-day hunt, officials from the Karnataka Forest Department successfully captured an elusive leopard from the Electronic City industrial area late on Tuesday night.
This operation differed from previous ones, where staff typically relied on small cages and foot patrols. Instead, they employed thermal drone cameras for four consecutive days and nights while holding meetings with IT professionals and industry employees to provide a list of do's and don'ts. Multiple cages were installed in strategic locations, which were regularly shifted based on the leopard's movements.
A senior official from the Forest Department told TNIE, “After the incident in Kudlu, where the leopard was shot down, this is the second such case in the area, and it is a successful capture.”
The male leopard, estimated to be around 5 to 6 years old, is healthy and has no injuries. “It is a healthy male with no injuries and all its canines intact. It made the region, located around 14 km from Bannerghatta National Park, its home as it seemed a safe habitat with an abundance of food (street dogs). The area has a lot of vegetation, unkempt bushes, and habitat, making it a safe place for leopards to stay. The animal was feeding on street dogs to survive.”
The capture occurred between 11:50 PM and midnight on Tuesday. A thorough medical examination was conducted on the leopard on Wednesday at Bannerghatta Biological Park by a team of veterinarians and experts. Based on the reports, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests ordered the leopard to be released into a safe, conducive habitat, as it is fit for independent survival and has minimal human imprint on it.
On September 17, at around 3 AM, a CCTV camera at the Electronic City toll plaza recorded the leopard's movement. Subsequently, another camera at NTTF also captured the leopard wandering outside its boundary. Forest department officials investigated the details and the CCTV images, confirming that it was indeed a leopard and not a jungle cat, prompting the hunt for the animal.
The area is home to major institutions such as Wipro, Infosys, Biocon, Tata Consultancy, ITI, and many others. The forest staff also issued notices to the industrial areas and tech companies, advising them to keep their premises free of bushes, weeds, shrubs, and garbage waste, which provide safe spaces for leopards.