Leopard Strays Into School In Aligarh, Attacks A Student, Captured After A 4-Hour Operation

A leopard that caused panic in the city of Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh after it entered a classroom and attacked a student has been captured.

The incident happened at Chaudhary Nihal Singh Inter College in Aligarh¡¯s Chharra area on Wednesday morning.

Lakhiraj Singh, a student of class X was entering the classroom in the morning when he spotted the big cat inside.

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Scared by what he saw the 15-year-old tried to run away, but the leopard pounced on him and bit him on the right arm.

Hearing his cry for help some students and teachers rushed to the spot who chased the leopard away.

Panic all around

The big cat then took shelter inside a classroom as panicked students and teachers stood helpless.

Wildlife SOS

The incident was immediately reported to the Forest Department, who called Agra-based conservation charity Wildlife SOS for reinforcements.

Equipping themselves with safety nets, a trap cage and protective gear to carry out the rescue mission, a five-member team from Wildlife SOS rushed to assist a team of forest officers in the rescue operation.

Wildlife SOS

By the time the rescue team reached the spot the leopard was scrambling from one classroom to the other in an effort to escape.

Planned capture

As the leopard was confined on the first floor, the team called for a bucket truck, often used for repairing street lights to facilitate the team in locating the leopard. Eventually, they found the big cat hiding behind a chair inside an empty classroom. They immediately blocked the entry door with a plywood board and Wildlife SOS veterinary doctor Dr Rahul Prasad carefully immobilised the leopard using a sedative injection through a window.

The leopard, estimated to be a 6-year-old male was carefully shifted to a trap cage and later released in the Shivalika forest division in Saharanpur.

Wildlife SOS

"The leopard must have sought shelter inside the college at night and was first sighted near the staircase. On hearing about the incident, our team rushed to the location and immediately evacuated the students and staff, and cordoned off the area with safety nets," Aditi Sharma, Conservator of Forests (Aligarh) said.

According to Dr. Prasad, such rescue operations are highly sensitive and need careful planning in order to ensure the safety of the animal as well as of the people.

Wildlife SOS

"Such incidents are a direct result of loss of forest cover and encroachment leading to depletion of natural prey base and habitat, which in turn forces wild animals like leopards to venture into human settlements in search of food and shelter. This often leads to human-leopard conflicts which have violent and brutal consequences for both humans and wildlife,¡± Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO Wildlife SOS said.

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