BENGALURU: Just two days after a leopard was sighted and rescued at Vibgyor High in Marathahalli, unconfirmed reports were doing the rounds that the local residents spotted two more leopards at a eucalyptus grove behind the school late on Tuesday evening.
Panic gripped Whitefield and surrounding areas as one of the local residents reportedly sighted the big cat. Earlier in the evening, complaints came pouring in from many residents in Whitefield that a leopard was sighted at Nallurhalli Park in Whitefield. It was followed by another report that two more leopards were sighted by the residents behind Vibgyor High in Varthur. But officials from the forest and police departments refused to confirm that the leopards were sighted.
Read: Leopard wanders into Bengaluru school campus, 6 injured
Amidst the high drama, the residents set fire and also burst crackers in an attempt to scare away the leopards. It was also said that the leopards tried to enter an apartment in the locality before it ran away into the eucalyptus grove.
Following the reports, a team of forest and police officials rushed to the spot around 10.30 pm, cordoned off the area and started the search operation. Officials confirmed that the search will continue throughout the night.
Residents set fire near a eucalyptus grove behind Vibgyor High school at Nallurahalli in Whitefield on Tuesday (Photo: DC)
Scores of residents took to social media to know whether the reports were true. Keeping the safety of the residents in mind, Deputy Conservator of Forests Deepika Bajpai appealed to the people not to burst crackers or set the field on fire in panic.
Read: Leopard takes Bengaluru school on toll, 12-hour operation to trap big cat
Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Ravi Ralph said, “Our officials have visited Nallurahalli and we have not spotted any pugmarks of leopard.”
A forest official said, “We have been receiving complaints from residents, but there is no trace or proof of its presence there. Sometimes, hysteria prevails after such incidents. Besides, the pugmarks of a dog and a leopard are not very different. Nevertheless, we have sent our officials, who are monitoring the place.”
School to close today
Following reports that two leopards were spotted at the eucalyptus grove behind VibgyorHigh school, Principal Roshan D’Souza declared a holiday for the school on Wednesday. Text messages were sent to the parents informing them of the school’s closure. “As a precautionary measure, the school remains closed on February 10 due to rumours of leopard being spotted in the vicinity,” Mr. D’Souza said.
Leopard at BBP
The leopard that was captured at Vibgyor School was blind in its left eye. This might have been the reason for it to have got strayed into the city. The big cat is suffering from glaucoma in its left eye, the forest officials said. The leopard is at the Bannerghatta Biological Park rescue center.
