Forest department rescues leopard from well, released

Udupi: Forest department personnel rescued a leopard which had fallen into a well at Hunsemakki hamlet in Hombady-Mandady Gram Panchayat near Kundapur in Udupi district on Friday, August 10^th.

During late night, around 2 am, the leopard was looking for prey and managed to catch a seven-month-old pup at the house of Lata Kulalti. While the leopard was attempting to escape with the it’s prey it accidentally fell into a well.

After falling into the well, the frightened leopard let go of its prey and since the well was made up of rings, it managed to sit on a slightly broad ring in the well. Eventually, the members of the household woke up due to the continuous barking of the dog and saw that the dog was in the well. They also saw the leopard sitting on the ring nearby.

The family informed the Kota Police and the Forest Department about the situation. Meanwhile, the people from the house lowered a small basket and managed to get the dog out.

The Forest Department staff visited the place and decided to rescue the leopard in the morning. Accordingly, the staff arrived at the hamlet with a small cage at around 9 a.m. and let it down into the well 15 minutes later.

A Department personnel goaded the leopard to get into the cage with a long stick from above and after some effort, the weary leopard got into the cage. The cage was then slowly lifted from the well and the rescue operation took an hour-and-a-half. “It was a male leopard about five or six years old. It was very healthy,” informed Sharath Shetty, Range Forest Officer, Kundapur.

The cage with the leopard was placed on a vehicle was taken to the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, where the animal was released. A large number of people had gathered near the well to watch the rescue operation