Leopard trapped on ICRISAT campus near Hyderabad

Hyderabad, April 17 (IANS) One of the two leopards roaming on the campus of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Patancheru near Hyderabad for the last four days was trapped by the Telangana Forest Department.

The big cat was trapped on Wednesday night, the Forest Department officials said.

The rescued leopard is a healthy male around five to six years old, they said.

The ICRISAT staff first noticed movement of two leopards on Monday. The drones of the institute had also captured the images of two felines.

After being alerted by the ICRISAT officials, the Forest Department personnel installed camera traps.

According to Sangareddy District Forest Officer Sridhar Rao, two trap cages were set up following the camera trap image of the leopard. Two goats were placed as bait to capture the leopard.

The captured leopard has been shifted to the Nehru Zoological Park in Hyderabad. After a detailed examination by veterinary experts, the animal is likely to be released into the deep forest.

One more leopard is suspected to be still roaming on the campus, and the Forest Department is continuing efforts to trap it.

Panic gripped the ICRISAT staff after sighting the leopards.

With one of the big cats captured, the ICRISAT staff was relieved.

The Forest officials believe that the big cats may have strayed onto the campus long ago, during the sub-adult stage, from the adjacent rocky terrain.

Officials said this was not the first time that a leopard was captured on the sprawling campus of ICRISAT. Two leopards were caught by the Forest Department's personnel in 2014 and 2019.

On Monday, the ICRISAT staff reported sighting two animals resembling leopards. In response, the Forest Department deployed 20 motion-triggered camera traps across the 3,400-acre campus at Patancheru.

After camera traps captured the images of leopards, the Forest Department officials set up cages with bait.

Two teams from the Forest Department have been camping to supervise search operations and closely monitor the situation.

--IANS

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