‘Leopard-like’ animal spotted in high-rise

NOIDA: Four teams from the forest department were rushed to a high-rise in Greater Noida early Saturday morning after security guards raised an alarm that they had seen a leopard-like animal jump over the boundary wall and disappear into the basement.

After combing the area for a few hours, including two basements, staircases and a few empty flats at JKG Palm Court in Greater Noida, West, officials said they failed to find any signs of a leopard. As a precautionary measure, however, officials have covered certain passages in lime, set trap cages and covered passages with nets to confine the animal’s paths and capture it or get a complete pugmark to identify the species correctly.

“We have combed the area. So far, we have found no sign of a leopard. A team of four or five foresters has been called in from Meerut and Ghaziabad, each, and there are two teams from Gautam Budh Nagar. Three teams have been called back from the spot, but are on high alert, while one will stay put overnight,” district forest department range officer (Okhla and NTPC) Arvind Mishra said, adding that the team that has arrived from Meerut has tranquilisation expertise.

According to officials, if the suspected animal is a leopard, then given the stealthy nature of the feline there are a number of places could have hidden as the society has five towers, but only 15 families live there right now; four towers are almost vacant.