BENGALURU: After a four-day, five-night-long search operation for the elusive wild leopard who was roaming in the AECS Layout area in Singasandra, the forest department officials darted and captured the animal on Wednesday afternoon.
The leopard was very aggressive and kept trying to escape injuring a few officials following which shooting orders were given, officials said. An official reportedly shot the animal in self-defence.
The injured leopard was taken to Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) but he could not be revived.
On Wednesday morning, officials traced the wild cat to the city's outskirts at Kudlu Gate near Electronic City in Bengaluru South. They had set up a cage and tried to trap the leopard but their efforts failed and he attacked a few people.
“All attempts were being made to capture the animal alive. But since it had attacked two people, orders were issued to shoot it down. The aim was to injure the animal and capture it but it died. It is not a happy ending,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests and Wildlife, Subhash Malkhade, told The New Indian Express.
Special teams of personnel from the forest and police departments and the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike’s (BBMP) forest cell were formed to capture the leopard. Personnel from the special Leopard Task Force (LTF) from Mysuru were also summoned.
'Official shot it in self-defence'
The leopard was hiding in an abandoned under-construction building and was shot dead as he ran towards a forester standing near a snare trap, officials said.
Forest officials were closely monitoring the leopard after it was spotted at Krishna Reddy Layout near Begur. Pug marks and scat were also found.
“The leopard was seen entering an abandoned incomplete building in the layout on Monday night. On Tuesday evening, it was seen entering the building and coming out of it. When the leopard was sighted again on Wednesday morning at the same location, we decided to capture it,” said a forest official, who was part of the operation.
The task to tranquilize and capture the leopard started at 9.30 am on Wednesday.
When he was first darted, the animal was not completely sedated. Not knowing this, a BBP veterinarian attempted to go near the animal, but it attacked him. The animal later attacked the Leopard Task Force (LTF) member. Both of them were immediately rushed to the nearby hospital where they were administered preliminary first aid for scratches received.
“Bannerghatta Biological Park (BBP) veterinarian Kiran Kumar darted the animal after seeing it outside the abandoned building. However, the leopard escaped into the bushes. Assuming that the leopard was sedated, Dr Kiran went looking for it in the bushes. Suddenly, the leopard pounced on him, injuring him on the neck,” a senior forest official said.
The officials then returned to the spot to continue the leopard-capture operation. In the meantime, a forest department staffer also suffered injuries on his leg.
Chief Conservator of Forest S S Lingaraja told reporters that the leopard jumped again to attack one more staff and the man shot the animal in self defence. The leopard sucumbed to his injuries.
The leopard was shot at around 2.30 pm, a forest official said.
The injured leopard was then shoved into a cage and taken to the Bannerghatta Biological Park where efforts were made to revive him but in vain.
"The leopard had attacked the veterinary doctor Kiran and one more staff member. They were grievously injured. It jumped to attack one more staff. So, he shot it in self defence." "We tried to revive it (the leopard) in Bannerghatta but he died," S S Lingaraja added.
Lingaraja added that it was decided to shoot the animal "in the interest of the public and to ensure that the leopard does not escape anywhere else." Orders were issued for the same, he added.
Since the location is a residential and industrial area, had the leopard escaped elsewhere, its capture would have been even more difficult, Lingaraja said.
While it is confirmed that there was only one leopard, as a safety measure, a watch will be kept for the next 2-3 days, Lingaraja added.
According to postmortem reports, the animal is said to be aged between 10-12 years old. He is a male with a missing canine.
The big cat had recently strayed from the wild somewhere near the Bannerghatta Biological Park, and was seen near Electronic City in Bengaluru south.
On October 29, a CCTV footage showed the leopard inside the apartment premises in Kudlu Gate.
It was again spotted on the road and caused panic among residents of nearby areas. Foresters had deployed cages and drones and had also brought experts from Mysuru to catch the animal.
Leopard attacked 2 officials
“The leopard also attacked Leopard Task Force (LTF) officer Dhanraj MD and BBP forest staffer Mahesh who injured his leg while trying to escape from the spot. They were rushed to Sai Sparsha Hospital in HSR Layout," the forest official part of the operation said.
Dr Kiran and Dhanraj returned to the spot from hospital to continue the operation, he added.
"When the personnel tried to capture the cornered animal with nets, it again escaped. A forest official shot at the leopard when it was about to pounce on him,” he explained.
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(With additional inputs from PTI & Online Desk)