Range officer confirms leopard’s presence at Garhi Fazal

Tribune News Service

Harshraj Singh

Ludhiana, August 10

Range Officer (Wildlife) Pritpal Singh has confirmed that a leopard was present at Garhi Fazal village last night.

Notably, residents have been complaining about the possible presence of a leopard in in villages adjacent to the Mattewara Forest for the past three months. The range officer has stated that efforts were on to capture the leopard.

Efforts on to catch wild animal

Our team, along with an expert from Kapurthala, is actively working on catching the leopard. We have positioned two cages at different locations & a night vision camera has also been set up to capture photos in case of any movement.

— Pritpal Singh , Range Officer (Wildlife)

Residents of Garhi Fazal, which is situated near the Mattewara Forest, remained vigilant during the night spanning between Wednesday and Thursday when they spotted a leopard roaming within their village last night. They said that the leopard entered the house of a resident named Tirlok Singh at Garhi Fazal during the night.

Makhan Singh, an ex-serviceman, said, “Tirlok’s family became aware about the presence of a leopard that had climbed onto their house’s wall as the dogs started barking. As their livestock was present in the house, they immediately informed other villagers through phone calls.”

“We all rushed to Tirlok’s house to prevent any potential mishaps. We also managed to record a video of the leopard as it perched on the boundary wall of his house,” added the ex-servicemen.

Makhan further said, “A few of us had spotted the leopard three months ago and informed the authorities. But, no action was taken by the department officials. Initially, they were reluctant to acknowledge the leopard’s presence, asserting it was a rumour or a wild cat. However, these same officials have now verified the presence of a leopard in our village today.”

Another resident said, “The presence of a leopard in our vicinity has become a major cause for concern. We hesitate to allow our children to go outside due to the fear of encountering a leopard. It is essential for the government authorities to take necessary measures to capture the leopard.”

The range officer said, “Our team, along with an expert from Kapurthala, is actively working on catching the leopard.”

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