Telangana: Leopard takes nap at Shadnagar house, tranquillized and sent to zoo

SHADNAGAR: It was a regular Monday morning for people in Shadnagar in neighbouring Rangareddy district, but for Manne Vijay Kumar it was a terrifying start. He woke up to the news of a leopard resting on the terrace of his house on Patel Road. After a three-hour wait and 45-minute operation, the big cat was tranquillized and sent to Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. In the melee, a constable suffered claw injuries.
According to forest officials, the six-year-old male leopard, which was resting on the terrace beside a few flowerpots, was first sighted by Kumar’s children, who informed their parents about the animal and tried to approach it not knowing that it was a wild animal.

The leopard is suspected to have strayed into the town from Kammadanam reserve forest, located about six kilometres away.
“The children were lucky that their parents saw the leopard just in time and stopped them before they went close to the leopard. They took the children and rushed inside the house, locked the doors and dialled 100 for help,” Rangareddy district divisional forest officer Bheema Naik told TOI.
Policemen, who reached the spot, confirmed the leopard’s presence after they spotted it from a neighbour’s terrace and informed the forest department. A team of forest officials and veterinary experts from Nehru Zoological Park reached the spot.
“The leopard was resting at the same place till the rescue team from Hyderabad reached the spot. For about three hours, between 6am to 9am, it was just sitting there,” Naik said.
At 9am, when the rescue team reached the spot and began the operation, the leopard went and hid behind the stairs.
“It appears the leopard panicked because of the noise made by people gathered there. Police had to control the mob from coming close to the house before we could tranquillize it. The entire operation lasted about 45 minutes,” informed a zoo official.
The leopard was tranquillized and shipped to Nehru Zoological Park, where it would be kept under observation for 48 hours before relocating it in the forest.
When the tranquillizer was shot, the leopard leaped and ran for about 100 metres, injuring a police constable. The forest officials informed that it was a minor injury and the constable was in stable condition.