Stray leopard has city on edge
Authorities urge closure of markets until cat is caught
NEW DELHI // A leopard sparked panic in a north Indian city when it strayed inside a hospital, a cinema and an apartment block while evading captors.
Authorities closed schools and colleges in Meerut, 60 kilometres north- east of the Indian capital, after the leopard was discovered prowling the city’s streets on Sunday.
“Despite our best efforts, we have been unable to track the leopard down. We have launched a massive hunt for the beast,” said S K Dubey, a district magistrate. The cat was found in an empty ward of an army hospital on Sunday before wildlife officers were called and managed to fire a tranquilliser dart into it. “But despite that he [ the leopard] managed to break [out through] the iron grilles and escape. He then sneaked into the premises of a cinema hall before entering an apartment block. After that we lost track of the cat,” said Mr Dubey.
Authorities have urged the closure of markets in the city of 3.5 million until the animal, which has left six people injured, was captured.
Police, soldiers and wildlife officials were trying to hunt it down but their efforts were being hampered by large crowds keen to catch a glimpse of the cat.
Photos showed the beast pushing its way through a lattice wall at the hospital as a policeman in riot helmet stood ready to hit it with a baton.
The leopard was also pictured leaping off a building site as people scrambled out of the way. Last week, another leopard killed a five- year- old boy in the central state of Chhattisgarh, the latest in a string of incidents raising concerns about depleting habitats for big cats, which is forcing them into populated areas.
Video footage from Mumbai last year showed a leopard creeping into an apartment block foyer and snatching a small dog.
Conservation group WWF called for better management of forests and other habitats for India’s leopard population.
“Leopards are large, territorial mammals, they need space to move around ,” said Deepankar Ghosh of WWF-India.
“We can’t put all the leopards into cages. We can’t remove all the people living near forested areas. We have to manage the situation the best way we can.”