Gzb: Leopard is still on the loose, search operation on
GHAZIABAD: The leopard, which was caught on the CCTV camera of a house in the Raj Nagar locality on November 17 and later believed to have injured two persons in Adhyatmik Nagar on November 20, is still on the loose and could not be sighted further as teams of the forest department are continuing their search.
Forest officials said that they received information about sighting of the big cat near the Upper Ganga Canal on Sunday, but it could not be confirmed due to absence of pug marks.
“Our teams are still searching for the leopard and the information related to canal did not materialise as pug marks of the animal could not be found so far. There was also information about presence of a leopard in Sector 23, Raj Nagar, and it was captured on a CCTV camera early Sunday morning. But the animal was probably a fishing cat as it was smaller in size. As regards to the leopard which attacked two persons in Adhyatmik, Nagar, it was a confirmed sighting and a search is on,” said Ashok Gupta, forest ranger from the divisional forest department.
The officials said it is likely that the leopard sighted on November 17 in Raj Nagar and the one which attacked two persons at Adhyatmik Nagar was the same animal.
“The pug marks at Raj Nagar were not found as the animal was spotted on road and cemented surfaces. But it is likely that it is the same leopard which was sighted at Adhyatmik Nagar on November 20 and probably moved on further. Our teams will continue their search,” Gupta added.
The teams from Agra, Ghaziabad and Meerut, along with experts from Wildlife SOS, are searching for the leopard.
“The leopard is still to be traced. As regards the information of its sighting near the canal, the pug marks of hyena, nilgai, and dogs were found from the spot, but no pug marks of a leopard were found. It is likely that the animal moved along the railway tracks towards the canal which has dense forestry,” said an officer from Wildlife SOS.