Udaipur : With the soaring mercury and harsh weather, leopards are prowling into human settlements in search of food and water.In one such incident reported from Sayon ka Kheda village in Nathdwara tehsil of Rajsamand district ,a male leopard wandered into a house in Gurjar basti past midnight. Luckily no one was harmed and the house inmates managed to lock the wild cat in a room which was rescued by the forest department in the morning.
“The leopard climbed up a 10-feet high boundary wall and jumped inside the courtyard of Champalal Gurjar where he was sleeping. Hearing the noise when the people woke up and shouted, the leopard ran into the adjoining house belonging to Champalal’s brother Mohanlal who too was sleeping in the open. The leopard got inside a room and immediately Mohanlal locked the room” said Mukesh Purohit, the sarpanch pati who reported the incident to the forest officials immediately.
“It was a male leopard around 3 to 4 years old. The settlement is surrounded by forest from all sides and it is natural habitat for leopards which are found in good numbers. Perhaps the leopard strayed in the colony in search of food or water” Ismail Shekh, the range officer, Nathdwara told . The forest team arrived in the morning and after inspecting the door size, brought a cage to trap the wild cat. ACF Vinod Rai instructed the officials for the rescue operation which was completed in some 2 hours.
The cage which was covered, was placed on the door exactly to fit the size and as the door was let open, the leopard stepped directly inside the cage.” We have taken the leopard to the Rajsamand veterinary hospital where it has been kept under observation and would be treated if required.Later we will release it back in the jungle” the ranger said.