Leopard trapped on Hyderabad outskirts

Hyderabad, Oct 11 A leopard roaming in and around Rajendra Nagar area on the outskirts of Hyderabad for the last few months was trapped in the early hours of Sunday by a team of Telangana Forest Department.

The leopard walked into one of the trap cages set up by officials near the Water and Land Management Training Institute (WALAMTARI) in Rajendra Nagar.

The six-year-old leopard was relocated to the city's Nehru Zoological Park, forest officials said and added that the feline will be kep under observation for two days and released in the forest if found fit.

The cages with bait were set up in Rajendra Nagar on Friday after complaints of cattle deaths.

Forest Divisional Officer (FDO) Sivaiah told reporters that in all probability, the leopard was the one that created quite a commotion in Mailardevpally area in May after it was seen resting near a road median.

The leopard was first spotted in the area on May 14 during the lockdown but attempts to capture it proved futile. Since then, it was spotted by area people on a few occasions that led to public panic.

Forest officers say the feline was roaming around Rajendra Nagar as the area provided a good habitat for wildlife. The area abutting Hyderabad Airport Road has abundant open land, hillocks and wild boars, peacocks and other small prey along with good water sources.

( With inputs from IANS )