Leopard causes chaos in Lucknow, several videos surface - WATCH

On Monday, a team of forest officers caught a big cat that had been on the loose in Lucknow for the past three days and had attacked many people. The leopard was recently discovered walking the streets of the capital of Uttar Pradesh. It had attacked and terrorised many persons in the Gudumba neighbourhood. As per locals, the wild cat had probably gotten into the city from the nearby Barabanki district's forests.

The leopard that had been on the prowl in #Lucknow since the past three days and also attacked several people, was finally captured by a team of forest officials on Monday.#leopardinlucknow https://t.co/25KJGnhrBS pic.twitter.com/34MUtHQtK1

— IANS Tweets (@ians_india) December 27, 2021

The leopard's movements were captured by CCTV cameras positioned in Gudamba's residential zones. Multiple CCTV and phone camera clips of a leopard wandering the lanes and terrorising citizens were shared on Twitter. The same leopard was seen in a viral video yesterday jumping over a wall of a house and taking away a pet dog.

#forestdepartment #besafe #StaySafe #Lucknow #lucknowwale @myogioffice @myogiadityanath pic.twitter.com/1aXnTg8B6Q

— December 26, 2021

@ChiefSecyUP @myogiadityanath @dgpup pic.twitter.com/U5IMrEryRh

December 26, 2021

pic.twitter.com/ujCyHp6iLq

December 27, 2021

As per media reports, one person who lives on a school campus in Kalyanpur, was the first victim of the leopard attack, receiving 32 stitches and suffering serious injuries. The stray animal ended up injuring 7 people, as per local news reports. Authorities became engaged after word of a leopard sighting in the area spread, and they began searching. Despite conducting a thorough search, forest officials were initially unable to capture the wildcat.

Police and forest department officials arrived in the area and attempted to calm the residents and keep them away from the leopard's suspected hiding place. The leopard was confined in a net set in a ditch about midnight, but it got away and clawed some people who had come to see the animal.

#leopard #Kalyanpur #Lucknow pic.twitter.com/UboVbhKkeP

December 26, 2021

The leopard was finally caught and confined inside a steel cage. As per forest officials, it will later be released in the wild.

Leopard encounters have been more common in recent years as urban areas continue to spread, intruding more and more on the dense forests, which have been the leopard's natural habitat. According to wildlife conservationists and national park authorities, this is the key cause for the frequent leopard sightings.