Watch: Leopard Trapped By Forest Department In Uttarakhand's Haridwar After Days Of Rescue Operation

The 8-year-old male leopard had caused dread among the villagers of Laladhang after the forest department was unable to apprehend him previously.

Haridwar: The Uttarakhand Forest Department has captured a leopard that was spotted in the Laladhang area here, creating fear among the people for the past several days. A team from the Haridwar forest division rescued the big cat near Chamaria village and sent it to the Chidiyapur Rescue Centre.

The leopard has been roaming in residential areas of Laladhang for the past several days, triggering fear and panic among the apprehensive villagers that it might make a human its prey.

A video of the leopard in the sugarcane fields in Charmiya village went viral, showing some attempting to trap it as others ran for safety and screamed.

The leopard forced people to flee for hours, as seen in the footage. However, the forest department team was equally determined, and the leopard was captured after hours of hard work.

Forest Officials Tranquillized Big Cat

A forest department official said that they tranquillized the leopard and then caught it by putting a net in the sugarcane fields. "After rescuing the animal, it has been sent to Chidiyapur Rescue Centre. It will be released back into the forest after examining it for a few days,” he said.

The department had received a complaint about the presence of a leopard some days ago, after which he was surrounded and finally caught.

Villagers Heaved a Sigh of Relief

Forest Officer of Chidiyapur Range, Harish Gairola, said the leopard is an 8-year-old male and was seen in the civilian areas for the past several days, terrorising people. “Three days ago, a forest worker was also injured during its rescue operation, but we were unable to catch him. However, this time we were successful in the capture,” he said.

After the leopard was caught, the villagers thanked the forest department and heaved a sigh of relief. The villagers said that this leopard was constantly creating fear in the area. “After the forest department caught it, we heaved a sigh of relief as we could roam freely and continue working in the fields,” said a local.

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