Forest officials catch leopard spotted at Thane's Korum Mall after six-hour hunt; big cat tranquilised in basement of Hotel Satkar

Korum Mall in Thane had an unusual visitor early on Wednesday — a leopard was caught on camera loitering around the mall in the early hours of the morning. After forest officials launched a hunt for the big cat in nearby neighbourhoods, it was caught after a six-hour-long search operation.

Watch: A leopard entered a Mall in Thane, early morning. pic.twitter.com/Avm07Ha2fc

— Singh Varun (@singhvarun) February 20, 2019

CCTV camera footage showed the leopard, believed to have scaled the walls of Korum Mall, leaving the premises around 5.30 am, reported Hindustan Times. Several Twitter accounts posted a video of the CCTV clip, which shows the leopard around the mall. Officials of the Maharashtra Forest Department, along with those of the Regional Disaster Management Cell of Thane, jointly attempted to track the leopard through the day. After leaving the mall, the animal ventured into the residential Vasant Vihar neighbourhood. A rescue team of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park had also reached the spot, according to  The Times of India. The forest officials finally managed to tranquilise the leopard in the basement of Hotel Satkar Residency before taking it away, a forest officer told PTI, adding that the animal will be released in the national park after an examination. The latest leopard spotting came days after another big cat was seen near a bungalow in Nashik on Sunday, reported PTI. Forest and police officials rushed to the site and eventually caught the animal after a daylong operation.