A male leopard captured from Kannur in March this year was brought to the city zoo from the Neyyar wildlife sanctuary on Monday evening.
The leopard had been shifted to Neyyar after it was captured from Kannur town on March 6. A team led by zoo superintendent Anil Kumar, veterinarian Jacob Alexander, supervisor Thulasidharan, and mason Sreekumar went to Neyyar with a cage and returned with the animal around 7 p.m.
The leopard, however, will not be put on exhibition right away. It has been put up in the animal house so as to let it relax and settle down. The animal is somewhat sluggish. Moreover, it needs a surgery as its tail switch is missing, and the flesh is sticking out, Dr. Alexander said.
The animal will be given medicines, including antibiotics for its wound, through food. “Focus will be on giving it good food and medicines. Though it can be darted for a detailed inspection, it is better avoided till we get a better picture of its health,” Dr. Alexander said.
The animal, estimated to be around 10 years old, had strayed into a plot near a railway track in Kannur town, mauling a few persons and keeping the public on tenterhooks for nearly eight hours before being tranquillised. From Kannur, it was taken first to the Thrissur zoo, and then to Neyyar.
Though the initial plan was to release the animal into the wild, its condition reportedly led the Forest authorities to shift the leopard to the city zoo.
