Sambalpur: Man-Eating Leopard Shifted To Sambalpur Zoo (Deer Park)

SAMBALPUR/NUAPADA: An adult leopard that is suspected to have killed two persons and attacked a child in Silaribahara village recently was transferred to the Rescue Centre in Sambalpur Zoo for treatment and quarantine on Tuesday night.

The male leopard, aged about eight years was rescued from the Kodopali village by the forest officials of Nuapada in the wee hours of Sunday. After preliminary treatment there, he was shifted to Sambalpur Zoo.  

Divisional Forest Officer (DFO), Wildlife, Anshu Pragyan Das said, “The rescued leopard was brought to the Rescue Centre under Hirakud Wildlife Division at Sambalpur for treatment and quarantine. On Tuesday, a team of veterinarians, and officials of Hirakud Wildlife Division transferred the leopard safely to Sambalpur without tranquilising.”

Recently, the Sambalpur Zoo has strengthened healthcare facilities for rescued animals. The quarantine facilities have also been made foolproof to avoid any untoward situation. The leopard is under round-the-clock observation through CCTV while human movement has been completely stopped in the centre except for rescue unit members and veterinarians, the DFO added.  

Deputy Director of Veterinary, Nuapada, Dr Partha Sarathi Dora said, “The leopard was in good condition and active before it was transferred to Sambalpur Zoo. We had given primary treatment to it after it was rescued but there was no provision to check for any internal injuries. So we shifted it to Sambalpur Rescue Centre for better treatment.

Reportedly on October 30, a seven-year-old boy was mauled to death by a leopard in Kaingpani village under Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary. Later, on November 3, a leopard killed a 45-year-old woman in Silaribahara village under Dharambandha GP in Nuapada district. On the very next day an eight-year-old boy was injured in a leopard attack. Following the incidents, the Nuapada Forest Department tracked the movement of the leopard and subsequently captured the big cat on November 5.

However, Nuapada Territorial DFO, Sushil Kumar Tripathy said, “It might or might not be the same leopard which had killed and attacked humans. But, it had entered into human habitation and was at risk of being attacked by humans. So we decided to rescue and transfer it to Sambalpur Zoo.”