In a bizarre incident, a leopard strayed into the house of a local resident at Kanda village here on Wednesday, and stayed there for several hours without attacking anyone.
Alert villagers informed forest officials, prompting Range Forest Officer Dharampur Neelam Thakur to rush to the spot. She also called in a rescue team from Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre, Tutikandi, Shimla.
Armed with a tranquiliser gun, cage, and a veterinarian, the team tried to tranquilise the animal. But the leopard escaped after getting entangled in barbed wire, which left a visible injury on its right leg.
“The leopard first entered the ground floor of a house through an open door and stayed there for two hours without attacking the inmates or a dog in the house,” Thakur said.
“After resting in a quiet corner, it moved to the first floor of a nearby under-construction house when the Shimla team arrived on the roof and tried to tranquilise it.”
Officials were puzzled by the animal’s unusually quiet behaviour. They suspect it was hungry and had strayed into the village in search of food. Anticipating that it may return to the area, officials have directed villagers to stay alert.
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