A couple from neighbouring Uttar Pradesh visiting Nainital for the first time after their recent marriage had a once in a lifetime experience beyond their wildest dreams in the lake city. Their experience has little to do with the Naini lake or other tourist attractions here as it caught them unaware in their hotel room when a leopard broke into their room early in the morning on Sunday.
The leopard is believed to have jumped through the hotel room window in a bid to escape a pack of street dogs who were chasing the spotted cat. The forest department personnel reached the site to immobilise and rescue the big cat out of the room but after their unsuccessful attempts to get the big cat safely out of the building, the leopard itself broke through the glass of a skylight and ran past the crowd of inquisitive onlookers into the safety of the jungle.
According to local officials, resident of Meerut in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh, Sumeet Rathod and his wife Shivani, along with some of their family members were on a recreational visit to Nainital for the first time after their marriage which took place earlier this year.
They were reportedly asleep in their suite in the Hotel Shashi in Tallital area of Nainital on Sunday when at about 4:40 am they were awakened by the noise of the glass window of their room being shattered.
The leopard which is estimated to be aged about two years, was being chased by a pack of street dogs and had jumped through the window into the room to escape the chasing canines.
Taken aback by the uninvited visitor, the petrified couple sought the cover of their blanket while the big cat moved into the bathroom. Showing swift response, Sumeet is said to have locked the bathroom door with the big cat inside it before informing his relative and the hotel staff.
By the time the forest department staff reached the site along with a tranquiliser gun to rescue the big cat, a crowd of inquisitive people had gathered outside the hotel as news of the leopard in the hotel spread like wildfire. A few slats of the bathroom door were removed to enable the staff to see the big cat and immobilise it.
However, the intended task could not be executed and about a couple of hours after it had crashed into the hotel, the leopard crashed through a skylight in the bathroom. The crowd of onlookers panicked as the spotted cat ran past them towards the shelter of the woods. A few of the onlookers fell in the confused rush and sustained minor injury but neither the people nor the big cat were reported to have suffered major injury.
It is pertinent to mention here that this is not the first instance of a wild animal entering a hotel in Nainital. Earlier on July 10, which was also a Sunday, a black bear had entered a hotel early in the morning and had caused minor injury to the hotel owner.