Robin Ash
A curious and rather nervous crowd pursues a tranquilised leopard in the residential area of Jyotikuchi in Guwahati, northeast India.
Locals spotted the fully grown male, which was thought to have entered the area from the surrounding hills in search of food, sleeping in a field yesterday morning.
As news of the unusual visitor spread a large group gathered to catch a glimpse of the animal, and some began harassing it, wielding sticks and pelting it with stones and bricks.
The provoked leopard was reported to have seriously injured two people, but was not killed. With some difficulty it was tranquillised and captured by forest department officials and moved to the state zoo.
“The animal was seriously injured after being attacked by locals. It came from the forest on the outskirts of the city and pounced on two persons,” Narayan Mahanta, the director of Assam State Zoo, said.
Locals spotted the fully grown male, which was thought to have entered the area from the surrounding hills in search of food, sleeping in a field yesterday morning.
As news of the unusual visitor spread a large group gathered to catch a glimpse of the animal, and some began harassing it, wielding sticks and pelting it with stones and bricks.
The provoked leopard was reported to have seriously injured two people, but was not killed. With some difficulty it was tranquillised and captured by forest department officials and moved to the state zoo.
“The animal was seriously injured after being attacked by locals. It came from the forest on the outskirts of the city and pounced on two persons,” Narayan Mahanta, the director of Assam State Zoo, said.