Bantwal: Trapped wild leopard rescued!

Bantwal: A leopard was rescued by forest department personnel in Bantwal with the cooperation of locals after it was trapped in a snare at Hegadeguli in Manchi village of Bantwal taluk. The rescue operation lasted till late night on Friday.

A leopard had been trapped in a snare near an inhabited area, forest department officials said. At about 8 PM, information was received about the leopard’s presence. Based on local information, the forest department immediately went into action and after nearly 4 hours of hard work to trap and sedate the wild cat, said Rajesh Baligar, zonal officer, Bantwal.

The leopard weighed about 60 kg and will be given medical treatment before being released into the forest, the zonal officer said.

A team of veterinarians headed by Dr. Yashasv from Mangaluru used a dart gun to sedate the leopard. Later it was brought to the zonal office of the forest department in a pickup.

The search and rescue operation was carried out under the guidance of assistant conservator of forests Subrahmanya Rao, deputy conservator of forests Dinesh, and chief conservator of forests Prakash Natalkar. Further action will be taken as per their guidance, said Rajesh Baligar said.