Lucknow: Leopard trapped in supply pipeline rescued

The leopard was first spotted inside the supply pipeline of about 4-5 feet circumference near Nurpur Behta village under Sushant Golf City police station area by the locals, after which the forest department was informed.

A leopard that was spotted on the outskirts of Lucknow inside a water supply pipeline on Thursday was rescued and brought to Lucknow Zoo during the wee hours on Friday.

A leopard that was spotted on the outskirts of Lucknow inside a water supply pipeline on Thursday was rescued and brought to Lucknow Zoo during the wee hours on Friday. (ANI Photo)

Zoo director RK Singh said, “It is a male of about five years and its condition is stable but is still under observation.”

“The leopard was first spotted inside the supply pipeline of about 4-5 feet circumference near Nurpur Behta village under Sushant Golf City police station area by the locals, after which the forest department was informed,” said Mohit Kumar, a local who first to spotted the animal.

Zoo director said the staff took about 10 hours to rescue it. “The animal went inside the cage put up by the forest staff at around 5 am. It is now at the zoo hospital because it sustained some injury near the left eye during the rescue operation as police and forest staff used an iron rod to make the animal move from one side of the pipeline towards the cage,” he said.

After it went inside the cage, a weight lifting crane was used to shift the cage to a truck. On reaching the zoo, doctors examined the animal and found it fine.