Leopard trapped, released in Nandankanan zoo

Surjit kumar Dhal, Bhubaneswar, Feb 20: The leopard that had strayed into the Palaspalli area in State capital three days ago has finally been caged and released into Nandankanan Zoological Park on Tuesday.

The animal stray and elusive leopard was finally caught by the forest staff late on Tuesday night, Bhubaneswar City DFO, Ashok Mishra, told mediapersons here.

He said the Forest department released the leopard in the wild as per the standard operating procedure (SOP) and the guidelines of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).

“The NTCA guideline says that if any wild animal strays into the human settlements in the urban locality, it has to be released in the wild. Hence, acting on the guideline, the leopard was released in the wild,” he added.

He said the health of the leopard is absolutely fine.

The hungry leopard fell into the trap set up by the forest officials while searching for food.