Leopard caged in school after 19 hrs

After a 19-hour wait, forest officials from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) managed to trap a leopard that had strayed into the basement of a Mulund school.

After a 19-hour wait, forest officials from the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) managed to trap a leopard that had strayed into the basement of a Mulund school.

HT Image

At 5am on Sunday, the wild cat finally walked into a cage where a hen was kept as bait. Officials had earlier tried, but had failed to scare the leopard out of the basement by bursting firecrackers.

"The leopard finally walked into the trap because he was probably hungry. We caught the leopard without tranquilising it," said Sunil Limaye, chief conservator of forest, SGNP.

Limaye added that the five-year-old leopard was certified fit after a medical examination and was fitted with a microchip under his tail to monitor his movements. Following this, at 5.30pm, the leopard was released into the Yeoor forest, in the Thane side of the park.