The Forest Department personnel rescued a leopard, which had fallen into a 15-feet deep well, at Mudrady village near Hebri in Karkala taluk on Saturday.
The leopard had strayed into Divya Sagar Estate and fallen into the well belonging to Diwaker Shetty after 10 p.m. on Friday, despite the well having a protective wall around it.
Officials of the Forest Department suspect that the leopard, estimated to be two to three years old, must have mistakenly jumped into it in the dark. The leopard sat on a small step constructed at the bottom of the well. It was noticed by the residents of the Estate and the Range Forest Office was informed. The Forest personnel reached the spot at 9 a.m.
Satish N., Range Forest Officer, told The Hindu that the staff from his Range then made a wooden ladder and lowered it into the Forest at around 12 noon after keeping a cage close to the mouth of the well surrounded by nets. “Within five minutes of lowering the ladder into the well, the leopard climbed it and straightaway went into the cage,” he said.
The leopard was then taken to the RFO Depot in Hebri, where it has been kept.
