Hyderabad: The rear leg of a leopard was struck in a broken fence of a mango orchard in the Mamidipalli section of Armoor forest range in Nizamabad district on Friday for almost seven hours.
After struggling to free itself, the leopard, believed to be aged between four and five years, managed to extricate itself and escaped. By that time, residents had informed forest officials who summoned veterinarians from the Nehru Zoo in Hyderabad to tranquillise the leopard to free it.
The team of veterinarians was approaching the leopard when it freed itself and disappeared in the forests. Dr Hakeem from the zoo team, who had ventured quite close to the leopard, said it was healthy and did not appear to be injured when it escaped.
According to district forest officer V.S.N.V. Prasad, the mango orchard was the only piece of private land and was surrounded by the forest.
Workers at the orchard have frequently reported sighting leopards crossing the roads, official said.
On Friday, they noticed the leopard when they came to the field at about 10 am and informed foresters.
