Leopard falls into well in Sitapur, rescued

LUCKNOW: A leopard which had accidentally fallen into a well in a Sitapur village after being chased by a pack of dogs on Sunday night was rescued after 30 hours.
The big cat fell in the well after it was chased by a pack of nearly 20 dogs, claimed residents of Sadarpur village. They siad that they heard the sound of the big cat's roar coming from the well and went closer to inquire.When they flashed torch light in the well, they saw the leopard struggling to come out.
The villagers then dialled UP 100 and informed police. A team of local police and forest officials rushed to save the animal. The forest officials covered the well while the rescue team was trying to take out the leopard to ensure that villagers don't attack the animal. A special unit of animal rescue team from Lucknow was rushed to the spot.
After a 30-hour long exercise, the team succeeded in tranquilizing the seven-year-old male leopard and captured him.
Divisional forest official Anirudh Singh told TOI, "We threw a net and then tranquilised the leopard. The forest administration at Lucknow will take final call on where to keep the leopard."
Forest officials said that the seven-year-old animal was injured in the fall.
DFO Sitapur Amit Pandey told TOI that leopards usually stray into villages in winters. "The seven-year-old leopard accidentally fell in the well and got injured. We first drew out water from the well so that it doesn't catch a cold. Then we used a dart to tranquillise it and pulled it out when it fell unconscious," said Pandey. Meanwhile, a huge group of villagers had flocked to catch a glimpse of the leopard. There was jubilation among villagers when the leopard was rescued unharmed.