Leopard escapes from cage, caught

Bhopal: Triggering panic, a leopard escaped from its cage in Van Vihar National Park on Monday night. The animal was later captured after a rescue operation.
The animal weighing nearly 70 kg squeezed through the narrow bars of an iron cage. It was only after search and rescue operations which lasted for more than 12 hours that the animal was caught. A frantic search operation was launched by the forest officials as soon as the news of its escape was received on Tuesday morning.
The park does not have CCTV cameras in that particular area and officials were worried that the cat may sneak into the city. Director Van vihar Atul Kumar Srivastava said around 100 officials were divided into 6 different teams to trace the animal by following its pugmarks. “We will inquire as to how the animal managed to escape,” he said. The incident has exposed the lax attitude of the park management as the gate of the cage was too fragile for an animal like leopard, said sources.
“The animal was ultimately found near the Rini Enclosure of the park around 6 pm and was tranquillized at 7.30 pm,” said Dr Atul Gupta, senior veterinary doctor at the park. Last evening the zoo keeper gave food to leopard, but when he visited the cage on Tuesday morning the enclosure was empty, he said. “Movement of the animal is usually after dusk, so we first tried to trace its hideout and it was caught after getting his location,” he added. Earlier, the seven-year-old leopard was captured near Rehti village of Sehore district in Madhya Pradesh on March 12.