Leopard strays into Rewari village, rescued after hours-long operation

A leopard that strayed into a house in Kanuka village created panic among residents and kept Forest and Wildlife officials on their toes for several hours late on Wednesday evening. Experts from Gurugram were called in to rescue the big cat, which had caused alarm in the area.

Though the leopard was successfully rescued at night, it briefly escaped during the operation when it was being transferred into a cage outside the house. In its semi-conscious state due to tranquillisation, officials managed to chase and capture the leopard again.

“Since Kanuka village is located on the foothills of the Aravallis, it is presumed that the leopard might have come from there. The wildlife has now been released in the Gwal Pahari area,” said Ram Kumar Jangra, Divisional Wildlife Officer, Gurugram.

Mukesh, an eyewitness, recounted the initial sighting. “A young man spotted the leopard near the boundary wall of an unoccupied house, which has a tin shed used for keeping animals. He informed the villagers, and within minutes, about 20 people gathered at the spot. They found the leopard hiding in the tin shed, bolted the gate from outside, and alerted the police,” he said.

The police arrived at the scene and informed the Forest Department. Local officials assessed the situation but called in a team of experts from Gurugram to carry out the rescue operation.

Deepak Patil, Divisional Forest Officer, Rewari, said the rescue team arrived and tranquillised the leopard around 11 pm. “The leopard was trapped in a net and brought out of the tin shed. However, it managed to escape while being taken to the cage outside. Due to the tranquillisation, the animal was in a semi-conscious state and was quickly recaptured,” he said.

A large crowd of villagers had gathered to watch the operation but was dispersed immediately after the leopard’s escape to avoid any mishap.