There was panic in Jhargram town of Bengal’s Jhargram district on Thursday evening when a leopard escaped from its cage at the mini zoo located around two kilometres away, police said.
Zoo employees found the cage empty at about 6 pm.
The forest department was immediately informed and mobile teams of the district police started alerting people using public address systems, said an officer from Jhargram police station.
The leopard, which was brought to the zoo in 2018, could not be spotted till 10 pm.
Featuring forests and hilly terrains, Jhargram district is part of the Jangalmahal area covering the western parts of Bengal and the state of Jharkhand. These terrains were a haven for Maoist guerillas operating in Bengal till 2011.
The zoological park was set up by the state forest department in 1980. It houses various types of deer, snakes, wolves, bears, monkeys and birds.