Bengaluru: Gated community, guards go sleepless after leopard sighting

Bengaluru: Forest officials in Bannerghatta and Urban Division have been tracking a leopard which has been occasionally seen in the human habitats on the outskirts of the city. On Tuesday night, it was sighted near a house in Suvidha Society, located near Khoday’s Farm, creating a scare among the residents and security guards.

After the guards shouted, the leopard snuck into a nearby estate, which has enough wooded area for wild animals, including the elephants, to move about. The incident occurred around midnight on Tuesday and there have been no sightings since then.

The forest officials now suspect that it could be the same male leopard, which was moving regularly between Bannerghatta National Park and Kaggalipura forest division. Three months ago, after a leopard killed a cow inside the Bannerghatta wildlife range, the forest officials had placed camera traps to record its movements.

“A large male leopard is on the prowl in Bannerghatta wildlife range and it possibly killed the cow. The leopard has been caught on the camera trap and we are now analysing whether it is the same leopard that was seen in Khoday’s Estate. It is common for big cats, like leopards, to move long distances during the night,” said a forest official from the BNP.