NILGIRIS: A house owner at Selvappa Colony in Moyar village near Masinagudi locked his house from the outside, trapping a leopard inside after it had entered the house while chasing a dog on Wednesday night. After more than five hours of effort, officials of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) placed a cage, captured the leopard, rescued it, and later released it into the reserve forest.
N Sivakumar, a smallholder, owns two houses in close proximity. He locked one of the houses from the outside after stepping out through the other house upon hearing his dog bark when the leopard was seizing it in its jaws around 9.15 p m.
The big cat, after being trapped inside the house, showed aggressive behaviour but did not kill the dog, which was also inside the small house. The dog continued barking due to the presence of the leopard.
After locking the house, Sivakumar, with the help of local residents, informed officials of the Masinagudi Forest Range. The officials visited the spot and asked residents to avoid shouting as the leopard was aggressive.
The big cat appeared confused and repeatedly ran towards a window where residents were taking videos and photographs of the animal.
V Rajan, Forest Range Officer of the Masinagudi Forest Range, told TNIE that officials had asked residents to return to their houses by 11 pm so that the operation could be carried out peacefully.
“Based on the instructions of MTR Field Director R Kiruba Shankar, we placed an automatic cage at the entrance. Soon after the door was opened, the animal entered the cage and got trapped.
“We examined the animal and found no injuries, apart from the stress caused by being trapped inside a room. We safely relocated and released it into the reserve forest in Sigur. The operation was completed at 2.30 am. on Thursday,” Rajan said.
