Leopard stuck in wire mesh rescued

A 2-year-old female leopard that got stuck in a chicken wire, used to protect crops, was tranquillised and relocated by the Nilgiris North Forest Division on late Wednesday night.

The leopard was spotted by residents of Theenatti village in the Kattabettu Forest Range in the Nilgiris North Forest Division on Wednesday. Forest department staff who arrived at the scene found that the animal had got entangled in the chicken wire.

C. Siva, Forest Range Officer, Kattabettu Range, said the animal’s legs and its tail had got entangled in the mesh and it could not extricate itself. Based on the instructions of the District Forest Officer, S Kalanidhi, it was decided that the team, with the help of a forest veterinarian, would tranquillise the animal before safely disentangling it from the mesh.