Tense moments prevailed at the century-old Mysuru zoo on Thursday morning after a wild leopard strayed into the popular tourist destination, putting authorities on the edge.
The leopard, around one-and-half years old, was spotted on a ficus tree inside the enclosure of the Lion Tailed Macaque around 8.40 a.m. The zoo staff successfully darted the animal and rescued it in an operation that lasted for over two hours. The young cat had been kept in a cage and is likely to be released into the wild.
Soon after the zoo was opened around 8.30 a.m. and the tourists started pouring in, there was commotion with news spreading of a leopard on the loose. This caused panic among some visitors.
They soon realised that it was a wild leopard and did not belong to the zoo. It was confirmed that the leopard had strayed in from outside, may be from nearby Chamundi Hills. As a safety measure, all visitors were vacated and the zoo gates were shut.
The Lion Tailed Macaques, which first spotted the leopard sitting on the tree top in their enclosure, behaved unusually on seeing the large cat, and soon their keeper Rajashekar alerted the officials.
Zoo Authority of Karnataka member secretary B.P. Ravi and zoo executive director C. Ravishankar rushed to the spot and supervised the operation. Zoo veterinarian Madan tranquillised the leopard in his second attempt and captured it using a net, causing no injuries to the animal. It was safely brought to the ground by the zoo keepers using the ladder brought by the Fire Department personnel.
Mr. Ravi told The Hindu that the leopard did not belong to the zoo. “The rescue operation was successful and the animal has been kept in the zoo hospital for observation.” He said the leopard would be handed over to the Forest Department, which will decide on releasing it back into the wild.
The zoo was reopened to tourists around noon.
