Mysuru: The one-and-a-half-year-old leopard, which had strayed into the Zoo yesterday and subsequently captured after tranquillising it, was released into its natural habitat yesterday night, said Mysuru Zoo Executive Director  C. Ravishankar.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Ravishankar, however, did not disclose the place where the male leopard was released stating that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)  rules forbid them from disclosing the location.

It may be recalled that yesterday morning, the leopard was spotted atop a tree in the Zoo by the keepers of Lion-Tailed Macaques when they made panic calls.

Soon, Zoo Veterinarian Dr. K.V. Madan tranquillised the leopard using a dart gun and the Zoo staff were successful in bringing it down from the tree before placing it inside a cage.

The Zoo had remained closed from 9 am to 12 noon as a precautionary measure.