Leopard enters bungalow in Ulhasnagar, rescued

A fully grown male leopard entered a housing society in Ulhasnagar on Sunday morning, sparking chaos in the neighbourhood. It was tranquilised and rescued after nearly seven hours.

The wild animal strayed into Sonam Classic around 7.30 pm. Security guard Ravi Kumbhar said he saw the leopard scaling the 12-foot compound wall and entering a bungalow of Suresh Asrani. A CCTV camera in the vicinity captured the entry.

"First I thought it was a stray dog. I ran to shoo it away, only to realise it was a leopard. I then informed the residents who alerted the police and forest department," Kumbhar told DNA.

A huge crowd of curious locals gathered in no time, forcing the scared big cat to stay put in a bedroom of the bungalow. Jitendra Ramgaokar, deputy conservator of forest, said the presence of too many people hampered the rescue. He said the police were told to barricade the area.

"The rescue team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the forest department drilled a hole into a window to spot the leopard. We managed to tranquilise it before sending it to SGNP in Borivali," said Ramgaokar.

Officials said leopards often enter human settlements in search of food as they find it easy to prey on stray dogs. In January, a leopard walked into a residential pocket in Mulund society and injured six people.