In a remarkable display of courage and quick thinking, a couple from Jigani, located on the southern outskirts of Bengaluru, successfully trapped a leopard that had entered their home early on Thursday. This incident, reminiscent of a viral video from Maharashtra where a child trapped a leopard, took place in Kuntlu Reddy Layout and drew a crowd of over 2,000 curious onlookers. After a five-hour-long operation, forest department officials managed to safely rescue the leopard.
Venkatesh and his wife Venkatalakshmi were having coffee and watching TV in the living room of their three-storey house when the leopard silently entered through the ground-floor door. Initially stunned, the couple overcame their fear and locked the leopard inside the room before rushing out for help.
Forest department officials were alerted around 7:30 am and arrived within 30 minutes. However, the search was not straightforward, as the house was surrounded by buildings, making the operation more challenging. The team, along with the Leopard Task Force, had to rely on innovative techniques to locate the animal, including attaching a mobile phone to a stick to perform a video search through a ventilation window. After half an hour, they spotted the leopard hiding beneath a cot.
The operation was further complicated by the presence of thousands of spectators outside, which made it risky to use nets or chase the animal. The officials carefully darted the leopard with a sedative and successfully rescued it by 12:30 pm.
The leopard, estimated to be around six or seven years old, was safely relocated after the operation.
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