MYSURU: A leopard that was holed up in a house in Siddhartha Layout, close to Chamundi Hills, a forested area, was rescued by foresters during a three-hour-long operation on Friday. The big cat is likely to be left back into the woods. DCF K Paramesh confirmed TOI that leopard, aged three years was successfully rescued by a team of 20 personnel for three hours of operation. When and how it entered the home is not known but the family members noticed the big cat while cleaning the home and immediately locked the room. The big cat was hiding under the cot when the personnel reached home, adjoining to Teresian educational institution campus in east Mysuru. The team sedated the leopard with a tranquilizer and then rescued it, the DCF explained. According to foresters the leopard may have come from Chamundi Hills, which is situated some less than one km away from the spot.The big cat reportedly entered the residence of Suresh, a retired revenue department official while family members were inside. At the time, Suresh’s wife Sujata and his mother Shailaja were at home. The leopard is said to have entered Shailaja’s room, leading to a tense and dangerous situation inside the house. It came to light while cleaning the home around 9 am and later foresters were informed about the presence of big cat inside the home. Sujata acted with a presence of mind and courage. She moved quickly to protect Shailaja and helped prevent the situation from becoming even more serious. Her calm response during the frightening incident was seen as crucial in ensuring the safety of the family members inside the residence. After receiving information about the leopard’s presence, forest department officials rushed to the location. An operation was launched to capture the big cat using a tranquilizer dart.
