Leopard continues to keep Patiala villagers on their toes, manages to evade multiple rescue teams for 20 days

Drones are also being used to spot the animal which has so far attacked a calf. A video has now surfaced on social media showing the leopard attacking a dog for its prey.

Neeraj Gupta, field director Chhatbir Zoo, while talking to The Indian Express, said, “The leopard was first spotted near a water channel passing along the outskirts of the Kheri Gandian village in Patiala rural about 20 days ago. However, it could not be captured as it quickly travelled to other locations and disappeared afterwards.”

He added, “On Sunday, villagers said it was spotted in the Baran village. Even our teams saw the leopard running into a millet field but it soon disappeared and our team couldn’t find any pug marks of the animal in that village.”

The Kheri Gandian and Baran villages are situated about 25 km apart.

Gupta added, “Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the leopard was spotted in Teona and Lung villages by the villagers and we found pug marks as well. On Thursday, it was spotted in the Rodewala village where a calf was also injured but the calf is doing fine as the leopard attacked her only near its ear.”

“A video is being circulated on social media that the leopard is attacking a dog for its prey but we haven’t recovered the body or the injured dog as of now,” said Gupta.

Gupta also said that at the Rodewala village, a team of 18 people, including two biologists, has been deployed. The team also consists of a rapid rescue team equipped with a tranquiliser gun, drones and other necessary things.

Rodewala is situated near the forest area and natural hiding spots for the leopards are the sugarcane fields. Gupta added that it seems that the leopard has been getting prey and is thus not causing harm to the people.

Meanwhile, rumours are spreading that the leopard was spotted in Deep Nagar too, which is a city area. However, there is no proof to back up the claims, said Gupta. “Our team stayed there overnight and couldn’t spot anything,” he said.

Showkat Ahmad Parray, deputy commissioner, Patiala, said, “Our revenue teams are also travelling along with the wildlife teams and making public announcements in the area. The animal disappears quickly so it becomes difficult to capture and rescue it. However, so far it hasn’t caused any damage to humans or crops. Although a calf was attacked, we are advising people to stay away from rumours.”

In January, a leopard was spotted in the Faridkot district. Its pug marks were also spotted in the urban areas, however, before it could be captured, the big cat escaped into the nearby forest area.

A month before that, a leopard was spotted in a posh residential locality of Ludhiana. The leopard was spotted at Centra Greens society on Pakhowal Road.