WATCH: Leopard strays into school
A leopard that strayed into an empty school in south India injured three people before being captured in a 10-hour operation by local officials, police said Monday.
A conservationist and a wildlife official were mauled by the leopard, while a cameraman from a local television channel suffered injuries when he slipped while trying to get footage of the animal.
The school is on the outskirts of Bangalore.
“The leopard entered the school on Sunday morning and was tranquilized and captured after a day-long effort by a team consisting of forest officials, NGOs and police officials,” local police chief NH Rajasekhar said.
“Fortunately, the security guard spotted the cat and alerted the police. Otherwise it would have been all trouble and chaos once the school re-opened Monday,” he said by phone.
Footage on Indian media showed the fully-grown male leopard prowling through the school’s empty corridors and attacking members of the team sent to capture it.
“It possibly strayed into the area from a forest area some two kilometres away,” Rajasekhar said.
The leopard was released into the Bannerghatta National Park, some 30 kilometres from the school, later Sunday night.
Leopards and other wild animals often stray into cities and towns in India, sometimes attacking people and at other times being attacked.
In October, a thirsty leopard that wandered into a village in northern India got its head stuck in a metal pot for 12 hours before being freed by local vets. - dpa