Leopard on Mall Road,tourists panic

The forest department staff captured the leopard with the help of tranquiliser shots and later took it to the leopard rescue centre at Tutikandi in Shimla.

The leopard is reported to be about a year old and had been roaming around residential localities near the deodar forests on Jakhu Hill for the last couple of days. It did not attack anyone during this period.

On Thursday,when it entered a thickly populated area,amid office buildings around Jodha Niwas and hotels on the Mall Road,it triggered panic. By the time the rescue operation began,a large crowd had gathered at the spot and the animal showed signs of fear and tried to hide itself in the branches of trees behind the buildings.

Veterinary Officer Sandeep Rattan said: “The fully grown leopard seems to have been left behind by the mother in search of new territory. It probably lost its way and came to the town by mistake.”