‘Housekeeping, there is a leopard in my bathroom!’

NAINITAL: Sumit, a resident of Meerut, always believed that nothing can wake one up better than a hot cup of coffee. That was before he and his newly-wedded wife

NAINITAL: Sumit, a resident of Meerut, always believed that nothing can wake one up better than a hot cup of coffee. That was before he and his newly-wedded wife came face-to-face with a leopard in their Nainital hotel room.

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Sumit and Shivani got the shock of their lives when a leopard entered their room at the Hotel Shashil, located on Haldwani road, early Sunday.

“The sound of a window pane breaking woke me up at 4.45am, and I was petrified to see a leopard walk into the room. I quickly covered my wife and myself with a blanket,” he recounted excitedly.

Luckily, the big cat entered the bathroom — giving Sumit the break he was waiting for. “I jumped out of bed and quickly closed the bathroom door. Then I called my relatives, who were staying with us in the establishment, and the hotel management,” he said.

Amit Sah, the hotel owner, immediately called police and forest department officials. A team of trained animal catchers — equipped with tranquiliser guns — soon reached the spot.

However, despite the fact that the leopard was locked inside the bathroom, they were unable to capture it. “The animal, a one-year-old leopard cub, came to the hotel for shelter after being chased by dogs. Our officials tried their best, but weren’t able to capture it due to hindrance from the public,” said Nainital divisional forest officer Tejasvini Arvind Patil.

Patil said the animal may have gone back to the jungle.

While Sumit expressed concerns over the hotel windows not having any grills, his wife said she was both terrified and elated by the episode. Shivani had never seen a leopard from such close quarters before.

Another witness, Rajesh Sijwali alias Mamu, said he saw the animal heading towards a mosque in Harinagar area.

On July 10, an adult bear had created panic among residents by entering the Hotel Prashant in the same area. It later jumped into the Naini Lake and disappeared in the woods.