A leopard on the prowl for a prey in Chandigarh is giving sleepless nights to the city dwellers. While the leopard sighting in Sector 44 on Tuesday triggered a panic among the residents especially living in southern sectors of the city, the officials of UT Forest and Wildlife Department are having a tough time to track down and capture the feline.
The complaints related to hearing of leopard growling and sighting continued to pour in on the helpline of UT Forest and Wildlife Department from various sectors on Wednesday. Such reports were received from Sectors 15, 31 and 38 till the evening.
A day before, the leopard was seen moving towards forest area around Sector 34-44 here on Tuesday morning. Following this, a combing operation was launched in the area but the UT forest officials are yet to capture the animal.
With deserted roads and the near-silent ambience all around due to imposition of curfew in the city, the leopard has reportedly strayed into the city from Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. The curfew was imposed on March 24 in Chandigarh to ensure social distancing and combat the spread of COVID-19.
Another leopard was tranquilized and captured from an upscale residential area in Sector 5 here on Monday.
Abdul Qayum, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Chandigarh while talking to The Pioneer said, “After analysis by experts, it was established on Tuesday evening that the pugmarks found in forest patch near Sector 34-44 was of a leopard. Apart from complaints of residents of Sector 15 and 38 on Wednesday, complaints of hearing of leopard growling were received twice from Sector 31, which has a small forest patch.”
A day before, a cage trap was set up in Sector 43 to catch the animal. Two more cage traps would now be set up in various parts of the city, he said.
Qayum further said that the Forest and Wildlife Department has also decided to carry out night patrolling from Sector 38 to 56 as these areas have small forest patches and the leopard could be hidden in these areas. The combing operation would continue the entire night for the safety of the residents, he said.
The leopard must have entered the city from the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, he added.
The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary spreads over an area of about 26 sq km in the catchment area of the Sukhna Lake, which is Chandigarh’s prime tourist spot. Leopards are a frequent visitor to the Sanctuary from forest areas of neighboring Haryana.
On Monday, a feline was spotted at a vacant bungalow in Sector 5 and was caught after a five hours long operation undertaken by a team of 15-20 forest officers. The leopard was later released in Haryana’s Morni hill area.
Last week, a video of a pair of sambar spotted at a zebra crossing on an empty road that divides Sector 9 and Sector 10 here had went viral. Peacocks have also been spotted at various places in the city after the imposition of curfew here.