Around 500 people jostled to take selfies with a leopard caught by the forest department near Gujarat’s Surat city on the night of July 17, forcing officials to transport the caged animal to a place 40 km away with police escort. A trap—three cages with chickens and a goat as bait—was laid in the Khajod area after a local resident named Bhikhu Patel spotted the big cat on July 15, department officials said, adding that CCTV cameras were also set up around the cages. “Till the afternoon, the leopard was sighted moving near one of the cages. We had already deployed some officials at the Kui residential society in the city limits. Later at night, we came to know the leopard was caught in the trap near the Kui society.” forest official Sachin Gupta said on Monday. As news of the leopard being caught in Khajod spread, people rushed to the spot in such large numbers that forest officials had a tough time controlling the mob. “The cage was lifted and loaded on to the vehicle to carry it to a safer location. Locals climbed on the cage and were taking videos and photos with the big cat. Finally we covered the cage but the public continued taking videos. We left the spot but the mob followed us. We first reached the Ichhapore police station after travelling 10 km,” said forest officer Jignesh Gamit. The leopard was escorted by a police vehicle to the Jankhavav nursery, 40 km away. “Our teams reached Jankhvav early in the morning. Veterinary doctors will carry out a medical examination of the leopard today (Monday) and later in the night we will take the leopard and release it in the deep forest,” Gupta said. The leopard is a female one around two and a half years old. “Leopards travel large distances in search of food and water. There are many leopards in different talukas in Surat district,” Gupta said.
