Leopard strays into Sector 5 house in Chandigarh, rescued in five hours

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 30

With the pace of life slowing down in the city, wild animals are emerging out of hiding to reclaim the city as their habitation. With restrictions imposed on the movement of vehicles and human beings following the clampdown of curfew, wild animals are exploring the city which was earlier out of bounds for them.

A team of the UT Forest Department rescued a leopard from a house in Sector 5 here today. The animal strayed into the house around 8 am today.

Biru Sibia, a resident of Sector 5, said the leopard first entered his house at 7.37 am and then jumped into the neighbour’s house and sat under a tree. At that time, the family of the house owner was not there. On seeing the animal, servants present in the house informed the authorities, he said, adding that the movement of the animal was caught on CCTV cameras installed at the house.

On getting information, a team of the Forest Department reached the spot and cordoned off the entire area.

Debendra Dalai, Chief Conservator of Forests, UT, said they received information around 9.30 am. Equipped with necessary equipment, including net, cage etc, they spotted the animal around 10.30 am.

The animal was tranquilised with the help of a team of veterinary doctors from Chhatbir Zoo. The animal was finally captured around 1.30 pm and taken to Nepli Forest where it is being kept under observation.

Dalai said there was no injury mark on the animal’s body and it was healthy. He said the animal was released in the Morni forests.

“The animal must have come from the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary as there is no human activity around. After crossing the Kaimbwala area, the animal might have strayed into Sector 5 from the lake forest, which is adjacent to the sector,” Dalai said.

Incidents of animals making their way into human habitats have increased in the one week after the curfew was imposed in the city. Recently, two sambars were spotted crossing a road in Sector 9.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.