A leopard, which was reportedly kept in captivity by a farmer to protect his crops from wild boar, was found at Rajupeta thanda of Marriguda mandal in Nalgonda district. The leopard was caught in a wire snare loop after it ventured out.
On Thursday morning, the locals spotted that a leopard was stuck in a wire snare loop near the fencing. They immediately alerted the forest officials. The officials when reached the spot suspected that the trap, which was seen lying there for a week, might have been laid by the locals for wild pigs.
It was believed that the leopard might have come to the tribal hamlet from a nearby hillock.
The forest officials who reached to rescue the leopard were attacked by the animal. A video went viral over the social media about the leopard attacking the officials as they tried to rescue it.
The animal was tranquilised before it was supposed to be shifted but before giving in to the tranquilising effect, the leopard ran and attacked a few personnel causing panic. Officials said that the animal must have strayed into the human habitat in search of food and might have ended getting entangled in boundary fencing and the villagers heard the leopard's cries and alerted the forest officials.
Once the animal went into a deep slumber, the forest officials wrapped it in a huge net and pulled it in a cage. They attempted to capture it in the net two times and the first time the animal managed to free itself and attacked the personnel. Finally, the animal was put into a waiting van.
Earlier this year, a similar incident happened when a leopard was found caught in a trap laid for wild pigs at Ajalapuram village of Marriguda mandal.
The forest officials finally rescued the leopard and shifted it to Nehru Zoological Park at Hyderabad.
The claim that the leopard was kept in captivity by a farmer for saving his crops was reported by an English national daily.
