Forest department captured and rescued leopard after week long round the clock operation and shifted to Bannerghatta National park

Pramesh S Jain

& Yogesh K Porwar 

After a week long round the clock operation,the forest department officials on Wednesday rescued the male leopard which was spotted in electronic City on last Tuesday.

The male leopard aged around five years was spotted crossing a flyover near a toll plaza in Electronic City at 3 am on Tuesday.Its movements were captured on CCTV at the Phase 1 toll plaza.The big cat was observed moving from the Panak India Company area to the Nettur Technical Training Foundation (NTTF) ground.

Panic gripped among the residents and employees of tech firms and it was a bigger challenge for the forest department to ensure safety and awareness among them,Assistant conservator of Forest,Ganesh V Thadagani,who headed the operation said.

A team of officials deployed at strategic locations and used thermal drone which according to the officials is best to mitigate such situations and man aminal conflict.

Cage with 10 by 12 feet was placed with a bait and the leopard which was taking shelter in the ITI campus spread across 30 acres was spotted and surrounded by the team.

The area was not maintained and bushes and trees helped the animal to hide,the officials said.

Soon after the leopard was trapped it was micro chipped and taken to BNP for medical examination.It will be released after necessary procedure,Mr.Thadagani,said.