Leopard sneeks in a village in Unnao, rescued and captured

KANPUR: Panic gripped the villagers of Saharwa village in Soharamau area in Unnao district when a male leopard on Thursday sneaked in the fields of beetel plants and hunted down a jackal. It was during the morning hours on Thursday that the villagers noticed the leopard and ran for the safety of their lives. This created flutter in the village and people armed themselves to save one and all from any kind of attack from the leopard.They confined their children in the houses. Fear was palpable in the eyes of the villagers.
The forest department officials from Unnao on coming to know about the development rushed to the site to avoid any casualty from occuring place. A rescue team from Lucknow was rushed to the spot. The team led by Dr Utkarsh Shukla, deputy director of Lucknow zoo, reached Soharamau at about 11 am and began the combing operation. The other team members were Kamal and Arif.
It was after four hours of tireless efforts that the leopard could be spotted and tranqualised. It was captured thereafter and locked in a cage. The rescue team recovered left over remains of a jackal which the leopard had hunted down during the night time. It was concluded that the leopard could have reached here by following the prey which was probably a jackal.
The rescue team had a tough time in capturing the leopard as it had hidden itself in the beetel plant fields. The leopard was sent to Lucknow zoo from where it would be released in the forest some time later. None was injured during the operation including the leopard. The police had a tough time in managing the crowd. The villagers cheered aloud when the leopard was in the net of the forest department.
Talking to TOI, Lucknow zoo deputy director Dr Utkarsh Shukla said that the leopard is not man-eater and that it would have reached the village while following a prey. He said that as the village where the leopard was hiding is situated next to a river and it was not difficult for the leopard to reach here.
"The leopard had been hiding in a field of beetel plants. It was tranqualised and captured at around 3 pm. It has been sent to Lucknow zoo for treatment of minor bruises from where it would be released into forest anytime soon. The leopard is hale and hearty. No villager was also injured during the rescue operation. The operation ended successfully," said Dr Shukla.
He said that the remains of a jackal were recovered from the spot which indicated towards the fact that the leopard had captured this animal and made it is prey during the night hours on Wednesday.
He said that all the officials of forest department were present on the spot and the police also ensured that the crowd was managed well.
On being asked about the age of the leopard, Dr Shukla said that it is 6 to 8 years of age and is fit.