Ghaziabad: Forest officials launch hunt for leopard captured in CCTV camera

Teams of the divisional forest department have launched a search for a leopard, which they said was spotted in the CCTV camera of a house in Sector 13 of Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad around 2am on Wednesday

Teams of the divisional forest department have launched a search for a leopard, which they said was spotted in the CCTV camera of a house in Sector 13 of Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad around 2am on Wednesday.

The leopard was captured in the CCTV camera of a house in the Raj Nagar area, a prime locality in Ghaziabad, around 2am on Wednesday. (Sourced)

During the same month last year, another leopard had barged into the official residence of Kanchan Verma, then vice chairperson of the Ghaziabad Development Authority.

Officials of the forest department said the animal was spotted around 2.02am in the CCTV camera installed outside the house.

“Late in the night, the occupants of the house heard some noise and checked the CCT]V footage in the morning. An animal was spotted and from the built and tail, it seems to be a leopard. The fishing cat, in comparison, is smaller than a leopard. We have roped in teams to trace the leopard and also trying to find its pug marks,” said Ashok Gupta, forest ranger, Ghaziabad.

“It seems that the animal ventured into thick vegetation and could not be traced so far. On Thursday, we will bring in a cage and set a trap. Last year, a leopard had surfaced from the official residence of GDA vice chairperson but it could not be traced after a hectic search of almost a week,” said added.

The Raj Nagar area is close to open fields having thick vegetation and open spaces, which are also close to neighbouring villages. The locality also shelters many big residential and official complexes of different Central government departments, which have thick green cover and safe hiding places for animals.

“There is hardly a distance of 500 metres between the spot in Sector 13, where the animal was sighted, and the official residence of GDA vice-chairperson, where a leopard was spotted last year. Further, areas around these spots have thick greenery and provide a safe hiding place for leopards. The administration should take notice and sound alert in the area so residents are aware of the animal’s presence,” said Rajendra Tyagi, councillor from Raj Nagar.

The spots where the two leopards have been sighted in a span of a year are at a stone’s throw distance from the official residences of the district magistrate, SSP Ghaziabad and other official residences of administrative officials.

Leopard sightings are not uncommon in Ghaziabad.

In December 2014, the carcass of a leopard was discovered from the stretches of Yamuna river in Pychara village in Loni, Ghaziabad. A day later, another leopard was found dead in the fields of Abupur in Modi Nagar, Ghaziabad and suspected to have died of electrocution.

A leopard was sighted in Vaishali on August 1, 2019.

In April 2017, a male leopard was also captured from Krishna Vihar Kuti area close to Hindon airbase after it injured two people and a cattle.

According to officials, leopard is listed under the Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and included in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora). It is also listed as ‘near threatened’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List.