NILGIRIS: A 45-year-old two-wheeler rider suffered minor injuries after he allegedly hit a leopard and fell down on the Gudalur-Kozhikode NH at Marappalam near Gudalur on Thursday morning.
The motorist, Rajeshkumar of Gudalur, did not see the big cat crossing the road and rammed the animal. In the impact, he was thrown off the vehicle and suffered bruises on his hands, shoulder and head. After noticing the incident, passersby recorded the animal lying motionless on the road and rescued Rajesh Kumar.
After a few moments the leopard gained consciousness and got up, which created panic among the people present there. It did not harm anyone and went inside the forest close by. After recovering, the biker also rode away.
However, forest officials said that the biker did not hit the animal and the leopard was lying on the road due to shock. “There were two leopards and one of them was trying to cross. Both the animals moved inside the forest which comes in the Nadukani range,” said an official.
Gudalur DFO Venkatesh Prabhu told TNIE that they are trying to track the leopard using drones. “If it is injured, we will know the animal’s condition. However, we could not trace the animal and will continue to search for it. We will consider treatment after checking the condition of the animal.”