The Forest Department officials successfully rescued a leopard stuck inside a toilet of a house at Kuppe village in Sorab taluk on Saturday, April 29. The male animal, aged about four to five years, has been sent to the rescue centre at Hampi in Vijayanagara district.
Shivakumar Gowda and his family members spotted the animal in the toilet room in the backyard of their house. They immediately locked the door and informed the Forest Department officials.
A team of officials, including Dr. Murali Manohar, a veterinarian at Tavarekoppa Tiger and Lion Safari, reached the spot. The animal was rescued after being shot with a tranquillizer dart. “As we noticed some wounds, we felt it was better to send the animal to the rescue centre at Hampi,” Dr. Murali said.
The doctor suspected that the animal must have been trapped in a snare and suffered injuries before reaching this place. “People place snares to catch wild boars. And leopards get trapped and suffer injuries as they try to come out,” he said.
The forest officials of Sagar division, including DCF Santhosh Kumar K. and others, were involved in the rescue operation.