Leopard on roof of building near Hyderabad tranquilised, captured

Hyderabad, January 20

A five-year-old male leopard spotted sitting on the roof of a single storey building at Shadnagar town, about 55 km from here, was tranquilised on Monday by forest department officials and shifted to a zoo.

The feline after being shot with a tranquiliser dart entered the kitchen and sat down before the sedatives took effect.

It was then shifted to a cage and examined for any external injuries and none were found, the officials said.

The animal was later taken to the Nehru Zoological Park, zoo officials said.

The house owner first spotted the leopard sitting on the roof of his house, sparking panic among residents.

He rang up police and they informed forest department officials, who rushed to the spot along with a team of city-based Nehru Zoological Park.

The animal was captured after being tranquilised.

“The leopard came to the residential area on Monday morning from the nearby forest blocks and was sitting on the terrace of the building. Our zoo team safely captured it after tranquilising it,” Ranga Reddy District Forest Officer Bheema Naik told PTI.

The animal was now in stable condition and would be kept under the observation of veterinary doctors for the next 48 hours, zoo officials said.

It seemed that the leopard was habituated to killing calves and goats and might have entered the area in search of food, forest officials said.

On January 14, a leopard which was found trapped in a snare in Nalgonda district was rescued safely by chemical immobilisation.

It suffered injuries and was brought to the veterinary hospital of the Zoo and is under medical care, zoo officials said. — PTI