The leopard which had strayed into the Palaspalli area in the city was captured by Forest Department officials near the cargo gate of the Biju Patnaik International Airport late on Tuesday night.
The big cat was trapped in one of the cages set up by the Forest Department team at around 3 am after being offered a hen as prey. The leopard was then shifted to the Nandankanan Zoological Park on the outskirts of the city for treatment.
It was later released to the Chandaka forest after treatment as per the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), informed city Divisional Forest Officer Ashok Mishra.
Residents of Palaspalli and nearby areas were panic-stricken till the animal was captured. After a massive search operation by a ten-member team yielded no results on Tuesday, the Forest Department personnel laid seven traps and installed as many as 10 trap cameras at different places where the leopard was suspected to be hiding.
It may be recalled that in a CCTV footage, the big cat was seen entering a commercial establishment premises near the airport during the evening of January 18. The animal was scaling the perimeter wall of the airport before entering the commercial establishment premises.