‘Leopard spotted’ near Greater Noida village, forest dept launches search operation

The Gautam Budh Nagar forest department has launched a search and rescue operation after residents claimed to have spotted a leopard on Monday night near a village in Greater Noida, officials said on Tuesday

The Gautam Budh Nagar forest department has launched a search and rescue operation after residents claimed to have spotted a leopard on Monday night near a village in Greater Noida, officials said on Tuesday.

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The leopard was allegedly spotted near Sadullapur village after which officials from the Ecotech 3 police station reached the spot while the forest department was also alerted. The forest officials said that while a leopard had been rescued about four years ago from the same area, they have not this time found any trace or pug marks of the feline yet.

“A search operation was carried out but the leopard could not be found. The forest department team was joined by the local police in the search. No leopard pug marks were found in the area. The search operation was continued till about 3am today. Another search operation will be initiated tonight,” said PK Srivastava, divisional forest officer, GB Nagar.

The forest officials also said that they will be setting up camera traps to confirm the presence of a leopard in the area. “We will set up around four to five camera traps in the region to confirm the presence of the animal. It will also confirm if it’s a leopard or not,” said Srivastava.

Meanwhile, police officials said that they have cautioned the villagers to stay alert.

“We are aiding the forest department with the search operation. A leopard or any wild predator can pose a threat to the villagers or their livestock, so we have suggested that they should not wander around alone,” said Bhuvnesh Kumar, SHO, Ecotech 3 police station.

In the past also, leopards have been spotted in human settlements of Greater Noida, which is surrounded by natural habitats and urban forests suitable for a stealthy species like a leopard, the officials said.

The big cat has been spotted twice on the Gautam Buddh University campus in February and May, the officials said, adding that the animal was also spotted twice on the NTPC campus -- in October 2020 and in February this year.