A leopard died after it was run over by a vehicle in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district on Monday morning. The incident took place on the Vijayawada national highway, officials said.

According to eyewitnesses, the big cat was lying on the road for an hour with serious injuries. However, no one approached it due to fear.

The forest department was also not alerted of the incident on time, officials said.

The vehicle that hit the leopard fled the scene.

A video shows officials wrapping the leopard’s body with a piece of cloth and leaves.

Police said that the big cat’s body has been taken away and they are on the lookout for the vehicle.

A similar incident took place earlier this month when a leopard died after being hit by a speeding vehicle on the Delhi-Meerut Expressway. The incident took place on January 16 near Kashi Toll Plaza in Meerut district. In 2023, another leopard was killed after it was hit by a speeding car in Ghaziabad.

Many incidents of leopard spotting inside cities have been reported in the past few months. 

Earlier this month, a leopard entered a resident society in Haryana’s Sohna and was safely captured after a four-hour-long rescue operation. According to officials, the big cat t likely entered the society through the basement parking area in search of food or to escape territorial conflicts with other leopards.

Gurugram:

A leopard that entered a residential society in Haryana’s Sohna, was safely captured after a four-hour-long rescue operation, officials said on Monday.

The leopard, a five to six year old male, entered the Amol Ashiana Society around midnight, prompting the local authorities to alert the wildlife and forest departments, an official said.

Wildlife officer, R K Jangra, said that the big cat likely entered the society through the basement parking area in search of food or to escape a territorial conflicts with other leopards.

The animal made its way to the sewage treatment plant within the premises, he added.

The rescue team cut the grill of the sewage treatment plant and placed a cage to capture the leopard. Initially efforts were made to catch it by making noise, but the leopard remained inside, he said.

Jangra said the team then sprayed water inside the plant, prompting the leopard to come out and it was safety caught using a net.

The leopard was later released into the Aravali forests. The operation was conducted without injuring the animal and no residents or team members were harmed, the officer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bhubaneswar:

A rare melanistic leopard with a cub has been spotted in a forest in Odisha’s Nayagarh district, bringing cheer to wildlife lovers, an official said on Friday.

The leopard’s images were captured with the help of a camera trap installed in the forest.

“A rare melanistic leopard with cub has been sighted in central Odisha, reflecting the region’s incredible biodiversity. These elusive ‘black panthers’ are vital to the ecosystem – protecting their habitat, ensures a thriving wildlife heritage,” Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife) Prem Kumar Jha said in a post on X.

A rare melanistic leopard with cub has been sighted in central Odisha, reflecting the region’s incredible biodiversity. These elusive “black panthers” are vital to the ecosystem-protecting their habitat ensures a thriving wildlife heritage. @ForestDeptt @CMO_Odisha pic.twitter.com/IlwaI0qipq

— Prem Kumar Jha (@Prem_CWLWOdisha) January 3, 2025

He also attached a video and picture of the leopard in the post.

The All Odisha Leopard Estimation-2024 has revealed that the state has the presence of such leopards in three forest divisions, sources said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

The rescue team worked cautiously to ensure the safety of the animal.

Bijnor:

Three forest department officials were injured after they were attacked by a leopard while they were putting the trapped big cat in a cage in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district, officials said on Saturday.

The incident took place in a forest near Dharmanagri when the officials managed to trap the leopard.

A video shows three forest department officials carrying the leopard to a cage kept in a truck. It appears that the officials subdued the leopard with sticks and they appeared to tie its limbs.

While two officials can be seen holding the leopard’s paws, another, wearing a helmet, can be seen holding the big cat near its head.

As they approached the cage, the officials put the big cat down.

However, to their shock, the leopard woke up, roared, and attacked the group of forest department workers.

Soon after, the officials managed to trap the leopard again and put it into the cage.

Three workers have been injured in the incident and are being treated, officials said.

(With inputs from Zubair Khan)

Shahdol:

Three people were injured after a leopard attacked them in the South Forest Division Range in Madhya Pradesh’s Shahdol area on Sunday. The incident took place when a group of people were picnicking near the Son River in the Khitauli beat of Shahdol range.

The victims, attacked by the leopard, have been taken to a hospital, officials said.

A 30-second video clip, which was shot by one of the victims, is going viral on social media. It shows the leopard pouncing on the picnickers – who initially instigated the big cat.

The video starts with the group of people calling the leopard – who was lurking in the bushes – saying “aaja aaja” (come come) and taking a video. However, their fun and games quickly turned into horror after the leopard came running and pounced on them.

The big cat attacked two people and then dragged another person to the ground, trying to rip into him. The group of picnickers started screaming and can be heard yelling “bhaag” (run) in the video. Within seconds, the leopard ran away before the video cut off. 

According to sub-divisional forest officer, Shahdol, Badshah Rawat, another incident of a tiger attack had taken place in the area a few days back, following which they had advised people to not venture into the forests. 

“Advisory has been issued. We have asked officials to alert villagers and other people not to go into the forests. A control room has also been set up to help people in such incidents,” he said.

Jaipur:

A man-eating leopard in Udaipur’s jungles, who had attacked a farmer in the nearby village, was found dead on Friday with an injury mark on its neck, forest officials said.

Forest Department Officer Sunil Kumar said that the body of the leopard was found lying near the farmer Devaram’s house who allegedly attacked him.

There is a major wound on the leopard’s face, which suggests that it was attacked with a sharp weapon or an axe.

According to the forest department, it is yet to be ascertained if this is the same man-eater leopard who has killed around eight people in the Gogunda area in Udaipur.

This incident was reported early Friday morning and comes under the Sayra police station area, nearly 20 km from Gogunda in Kamol village.

The leopard which entered the house of 55 -year-old Devaram here first attacked cows and then the farmer.

Hearing the noise of the locals and the farmer’s family, the leopard left Devaram lying on the ground and ran towards the forest following which the locals chased it with weapons.

The injured Devaram was taken to the nearest health centre and was then referred to MB Hospital in Udaipur.

Devaram’s condition is stable now, but due to fear, he is unable to speak.

Officials said that there is a possibility that the leopard may have been killed by the locals here.

The matter is being investigated, they added.

Shoot-at-sight orders have been issued for the maneater leopard after he killed around eight people here.

For the past month, a search for the man-eating leopard has been underway in the Gogunda and Jhadol areas of Udaipur.

A team of about 300 people is searching for the man-eater in the forests of more than 20 villages using high-tech techniques.

The team also includes experts from different tiger sanctuaries, but the man-eater leopard has not been caught yet.

Meanwhile, after the leopard attacks in the villages of Gogunda and Jhadol area, the attacks in the Sayra area are also raising concerns for the administration.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Bengaluru:

A leopard safari at Bannerghatta National Park near the Bannerghatta National Park in Karnataka turned adventurous for a group of tourists after the wild animal leapt at the window of their bus, leaving them stunned. 

A video of the thrilling moment which has now gone viral on social media platforms showed the animal not only trying to climb up but also peeking at the terrified passengers through the window.

Later, the Leopard tried to jump on top of the bus. However, the driver moved the vehicle forward and the big cat returned to its habitat.

According to officials, the incident occurred on Sunday during a safari when the driver pulled up to get a closer view of the wildlife. However, all of a sudden, the leopard hopped onto the bus. The incident was captured on camera by the tourists.

“The tourists were shocked and frightened initially, but soon they were mesmerized to see the animal. The leopard’s unexpected appearance created a brief moment of panic, but the tourists regained their composure and enjoyed the rare sighting. Since all the safari vehicles had mesh windows, they (tourists) were all safe. No one was hurt,” an official said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Villagers in Uttar Pradesh’s Lakhimpur Kheri clashed with the police today after a leopard allegedly killed a 6-year-old boy, the second such incident this week.

The incident took place in the Shardanagar forest range of the South Kheri forest division when the victim had gone to a farm with his father.

A leopard, which was hiding in a sugarcane field, came out and dragged him to the tree and killed him.

The villagers arrived at the spot after his father shouted for help, but the animal had already killed the boy and fled.

Earlier this week, a 50-year-old farmer was mauled to death by a leopard in Bhadaiya village under the Mohammadi range of the South Kheri forest division.

In September, a tiger attacked and killed a man from neighbouring Muda Assi village.

Angry over the latest incident, the villagers clashed with police and threw stones at their vehicles. They alleged that these incidents were happening due to the negligence of the forest department.

Wolf Attack In Uttar Pradesh

Some 130 kilometres from Lakhimpur Kheri, a pack of six wolves had terrorised a village in the Bahraich district.

The last one of the pack, that have killed eight people and injured more than 20 others since mid-July in Bahraich’s Mahsi, was killed by the locals on Saturday.

A campaign, ‘Operation Bhediya’, was launched by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government to capture them.

Five other wolves were earlier rescued in the district.

New Delhi:

Panic gripped the residents of Maharashtra’s Kopargaon after a leopard strayed into a residential area of the town. 

A video shows the leopard roaming on a road in Kopargaon. 

The people then informed the Forest Department officials who rushed to the spot to capture the leopard.

Efforts are on to capture the leopard and release the big cat to the forest, officials said.