Coronavirus Outbreak: Leopard found relaxing on road in Hyderabad's Mailardevpally area sparks panic among locals

Since the imposition of the nationwide coronavirus lockdown, a number of incidents of wild animals wandering into urban areas and residential colonies have been reported. In one such incident, a leopard was spotted lying on the main road in Hyderabad’s Mailardevpally area near the Katedanunderbridge on Thursday.

The incident triggered panic among locals and passersby. The people who saw the feline alerted authorities who along with a team from the city-based Nehru Zoological Park rushed to the spot to rescue it.

Telangana: A leopard was spotted sitting at Kattedan underbridge near Mailardevpally Police Station in Rangareddy district today morning. It later escaped into a nearby open space before it could be caught. A rescue operation by Police and forest officials is underway. pic.twitter.com/MJVQ9qC3Lt

— ANI (@ANI) May 14, 2020

According to The Times of India, people initially suspected that the leopard was injured as it was not moving, but later an official confirmed that it was in good health.

The report quoted a forest official as saying that after relaxing on the road for some time, the big cat ran into a private farmland. The rescue team secured the farmland to catch the animal.

There were reports that the leopard attacked and injured a person who went too close to it. The forest department officials, however, said they aren’t aware of any such mishap.

In a similar incident, an Asian palm civet cat was found on the ramparts of Noorani Masjid near FatehDarwaza of Golconda Fort late on Wednesday, reported The Hindu.

There were rumours that a black panther was sighted as well which kept the residents nearby awake the whole night. The civet was rescued early on Thursday by a Forest team, and shifted to the Nehru Zoological Park.