Villagers heave a sigh of relief

Mysuru: A three-year-old leopard has been caught by the Forest Department, which had kept a cage at a farm in Kergalli village in the taluk.

Following complaints from villagers about the sighting of the leopard in and around the village and killing of their livestock, the Forest Department personnel had placed a cage along with bait at the farm of one Basappa at the village three days ago.

The leopard, which entered the cage in search of prey yesterday night, was trapped.

Following information, a team of Forest Department personnel, led by Range Forest Officer (RFO) Devaraj, who rushed to the village, transported the leopard to Aranya Bhavan in city this morning where it was provided first aid for minor bruises it had sustained during transportation. The leopard was found to be healthy and the Department officials would be releasing the big wild cat to Bandipur Reserve Forest this evening.