India News | UP: Leopard on Loose Captured in Closed Factory in Bareilly, to Be Released in Uttarakhand Forest
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. A leopard on the loose for nearly a month, triggering panic in the Hafizganj area here, was captured inside a cage set up on Wednesday morning, forest officials said.
Bareilly (UP), Jul 30 (PTI) A leopard on the loose for nearly a month, triggering panic in the Hafizganj area here, was captured inside a cage set up on Wednesday morning, forest officials said.
Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Diksha Bhandari confirmed the leopard was found trapped in the cage in the closed Khaitan factory near Faizullapur village, where a live chicken was placed as a bait.
The animal is currently under the supervision of the forest department and will be released into the forests of Uttarakhand, near the Uttar Pradesh–Bijnor border, once legal formalities are completed.
Villagers expressed relief after the big cat's capture. It's presence had disrupted farming activities and forced children to stay away from school since it was first sighted, officials said.
On June 26 the leopard was first sighted when it attacked a cow belonging to a security guard, Ajay Kumar, stationed at the abandoned Khaitan factory.
Kumar managed to scare it away and captured a video of the animal from the roof.
Although the forest department deployed cages and CCTV cameras to trap the leopard, but the animal eluded capture on multiple occasions.
Officials said as rains lashed the area on Tuesday night, the leopard may have struggled to find food and was drawn to the bait out of hunger, following which it entered the cage and was successfully captured.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)