Third Leopard Caught in Cage Trap at UP Sanctuary in a Week

Bahraich: A male leopard was caught by the forest department in Rampur Bejha village adjacent to the Kakraha range of Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, an official said on Friday.

Four cases of leopard attacks on humans have been reported from the residential areas situated near the sanctuary since September 26.

Since then, the forest department has rescued three leopards, including a female one, by setting up cage traps.

On September 29, a male leopard was captured in Dharmapur Baijha, while a female leopard was trapped near Ayodhya Purwa village on October 2.

The latest capture was made in the early hours of Friday.

"At around 1.30 am on Friday, a male leopard aged around five-six years got trapped in a cage. Prima facie, the animal seems to be healthy and active,"B. Shivshankar, Divisional Forest Officer, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary, said.

He said that Chief Wildlife Warden of Uttar Pradesh, Sanjay Srivastava, has been informed about the capture. On his order, the leopard can be released in a dense forest or sent to a zoo.

"On September 29, a leopard killed a man named Kandhai (40) in Rampur Baijha village. However, it was not a man-eater and the incident was accidental. On the same night, a leopard was caught in a cage trap near Dharmapur village," the officer added.

The forest department has been repeatedly telling people living in the vicinity of the sanctuary that since leopards have a tendency of roaming around in search of food, they should always remain cautious, not sleep in the open, and venture out of their homes only in groups.

On September 26, two people Madhusudan (35) and Sahiba (13) were attacked by leopards in the Dharmapur forest range and Ayodhya Purwa village in Sujauli range, respectively.

Again on the night of October 1, Rehmana (63) , a resident of Ayodhya Purwa village, was left injured following a leopard attack.