Leopard escapes from quarantine centre near zoo in Pune

Pune: A leopard has escaped from a quarantine centre located near a zoo in Maharashtra’s Pune city, civic officials said on Tuesday.

Efforts were on to capture the feline after it escaped on Monday, they said, adding that Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials and fire personnel were conducting a search inside the quarantine centre premises and the entire area has been cordoned off.

The leopard was born at a zoo in Karnataka. It was recently brought to the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj area here and was quarantined, a senior PMC official said.

The animal is inside the quarantine facility premises and has been spotted in the CCTV footage, he said.

“The leopard is suspected to have escaped on Monday morning from the quarantine centre, which is located in the vicinity of the zoo. It is hiding in thick bushes in the vicinity. We have been carrying out an operation to capture the feline,” the official said.

The area has been cordoned off and the search is on.

“We are taking the help of thermal drones to locate the animal,” the official said.