Leopard Escapes From Captivity Again

Exactly a week after a male leopard was captured from a Bengaluru school following a 10-hour ordeal, the captured leopard has again escaped, this time, from its cage at Bannerghata Rescue Centre.

The leopard escaped when the attendants opened the cage to give him food. According to Santosh Kumar, the director of Bannerghatta National Park, the cage door was possibly not shut properly. “There is no need to panic as the cat is still inside the national park, which is its natural habitat. But we would have liked to keep it at the centre for a few more days as the leopard was still undergoing medical treatment,” he said.

The leopard was tranquilized and captured after it escaped from Bannerghatta National Park and strayed into the city’s eastern suburb last week. Video footages caught the animal prowling around a closed school and trying to maul forestry officials. As it was a holiday, students and teachers were lucky to have escaped being attacked by the wild animal. The captured leopard was put in a cage and shifted to the Bannerghata Rescue Centre inside the national park from where it escaped on Tuesday.

The chief wildlife warden of Karnataka, Ravi Ralph, said, “About 50 officials, divided into six teams, have been scouring for the leopard in and around the area trying to trace it by following the pug marks.” He added that an inquiry was underway to find out how the leopard escaped from captivity. Villagers have also been warned to stay indoors and walk in groups when going outside. It is being speculated that the leopard has escaped into the nearby Bannerghata National Park, which is spread over 100 sq km.

Forest officials feel that the depletion in the amount of forest area has prompted the rise in the number of leopards venturing into populated areas.