Leopard In Greater Noida Society: Scared Residents Remain Indoors As Rescue Op Continues

Most residents of a Greater Noida (West) group housing society where a leopard was sighted continued to remain indoors, with many avoiding even local shop visits.

A leopard was spotted in a Greater Noida society on Wednesday morning. (Representative image)

Most residents of a Greater Noida (West) group housing society where a leopard was sighted continued to remain indoors, with many avoiding even going to the local shops for getting daily essentials as the operation to rescue the feline entered the second day.

Home deliveries were also regulated after the leopard was spotted again on Wednesday morning.

The Forest Department here said it continued the search and rescue operation at the Ajnara Le Garden in Sector 16 of Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension, for the second consecutive day.

Locals estimate that around 1,500 people live in the close vicinity to the residential tower in whose basement the feline is believed to be stranded.

"No doubt, residents are very concerned about their safety," Mukesh Gupta, who lives with his family on the 15th floor, told PTI. Gupta's wife was among those who claimed to have seen the feline moving around in the area on Wednesday morning.

"My wife saw the leopard moving in the society on Wednesday morning. It was a little misty when she noticed the leopard near the swimming pool," Gupta said.

Amit Kumar, another resident, said home delivery services have been curtailed and common areas made inaccessible in the society as people are taking utmost caution if stepping out.

The leopard sighting on Tuesday triggered panic among residents of the group housing society.

While four teams from the Forest department at Gautam Buddh Nagar rushed to the spot, experts from Meerut, Agra and Ghaziabad were also roped in to bolster the operation, an official said.

The foresters had a confrontation with the leopard late on Tuesday night, confirming the animal's presence in the society, the official added.

The society had issued a similar leopard alert a week ago when, on December 27, its maintenance department informed the residents about a feline's suspected presence on the premises and urged them to avoid venturing outdoors.

"We are continuing with our search for the leopard. We have got teams from Agra and Meerut as well for the job," Divisional Forest Officer Pramod Kumar Srivastava, overseeing the rescue operation, told PTI.

Around 7 pm Wednesday, Srivastava said nets have been laid to catch the animal as seven teams, including four from the local Forest department, were at the spot. All exit points of the under-construction residential tower's basement where the feline is believed to be stranded have been blocked.

"Now it's a wait and watch situation for us," the DFO told PTI.

On suspicion of the stranded animal being a fishing cat (which also has big spots on its body) and not a leopard, the officer said all speculations would be laid to rest once animal is rescued.

Three trap cages were installed in the society and drones are also being used to capture the movement of the leopard.

The society has around 16 residential towers of which five to six are under construction. The leopard was spotted in one of the under-construction towers' basement on Tuesday. A couple of blurred pictures of the animal also emerged, according to the society residents.

The society officials had on Tuesday issued a one-line message to the residents, requesting them to stay indoors and cautious after the leopard was spotted on the premises.

(This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)