Srirangapatna: Tourists flocking Brindavan Gardens and officials manning the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam in Mandya have heaved a sigh of relief as the elusive leopard that was roaming around the Dam vicinity has finally been trapped last night. 

The feline, in search of food, voluntarily entered a cage placed by the Forest  Department. 

Today morning, growls were heard from the cage and when the officials checked on it, the big cat was in a belligerent mood. Officials later covered the cage with tarpaulin to protect the animal from sunlight and to calm it.

Range Forest Officers Puttaswamy (Pandavapura) and Sunitha (Srirangapatna) told Star of Mysore that it is a three-year-old male leopard. 

It was trapped in the cage that was kept near the North Gate that comes under Pandavapura limits. The big cat will be released to Reserve Forest at Kollegal based on the directives of the higher officers, they said. 

It may be recalled that the leopard was found roaming on the premises of the KRS Dam in Srirangapatna taluk on Feb.3, creating a scare. The CCTV camera footage showed the big cat wandering near the South Gate – the main entrance. 

Officials at KRS were on high alert and the Forest Department had placed two cages to trap the elusive cat.

Officials said that the cage near the South Gate — coming under Srirangapatna limits — will be placed for a couple of more days to rule out the possibility of another leopard roaming in the vicinity. This is for the first time that a leopard has been seen near the Dam site and now it has been trapped. 

Officials from Cauvery Neeravari Nigama Limited (CNNL) that manages the Dam said that they were on alert ever since the leopard was spotted. “We were seeing the CCTV footage every night to spot the big cat and to keep an eye on its movements. Now that the leopard has been trapped, we are relieved,” said an officer.