Leopard spotted in Greater Noida Society, rescue operation underway

There was panic among residents of a society in Greater Noida where a leopard was spotted in the basement of the complex.

"Two days ago, we received information that a wild animal was spotted in the Ajnara Le Garden society. Verification was done but no evidence was found," said District/Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Gautam Buddha Nagar said.

A forest department team led by the DFO reached the society and launched a search for the animal.

"Today, a wild animal was spotted there again. We verified the information and the rescue operation is on," said District/Divisional Forest Officer (DFO).

Forest department officials confirmed that the animal was a leopard.

Further details are awaited.

According to reports, a few years ago a leopard had ventured into the Sadullapur Village near Ecotech3 in Greater Noida and forest department officials rescued the animal and released it into Shivalik forest range near Saharanpur.

Meanwhile in Maharashtra, a 10-year-old male leopard was trapped and captured by a rescue team in Maharashtra's Talegaon town, officials said today.

Forest officials and the rescue team rushed to the spot after complaints from locals that the big cat had been sighted in the Igatpuri village.

The swab sample of the leopard will be collected and matched with that of a six-year-old deceased child to ascertain if he was killed by the big cat a few days ago.

"We received information about a leopard sighted in Talegaon, Igatpuri. We rushed a rescue team that reached the spot and trapped the leopard. The leopard's swab will be collected and matched with the swab of the 6-year-old child who died (from a suspected leopard attack) on December 24," Ketan Birari, Range Forest Officer (RFO) Nashik, said.

The swab results will confirm if the same leopard was behind the child's killing. A compensation of Rs 20 lakh has been announced for the family of the deceased child.

"The leopard is a 10-year-old male. Its swab sample will be sent to the laboratory of the Wildlife Institute of India. The deceased child's family will receive Rs 20 lakh as compensation this week," the RFO, Nashik added.