Daijiworld Media Network – Kundapur

Kundapur, Jun 13: Panic gripped residents of Kundapur city after a leopard was spotted roaming through a residential area late Wednesday night. The animal's movements were captured on CCTV footage, prompting immediate safety alerts.

The leopard was sighted around 12:56 am near Ankadakatte, adjacent to the national highway and a densely populated locality. It was seen walking behind the house of Dr Johnson. The live monitoring CCTV system installed by a local security agency, Sign-In Security, captured the leopard’s movement.

Upon spotting the animal on surveillance, the security staff promptly alerted the residents, advising them to stay indoors. The leopard reportedly disappeared shortly after, and its current whereabouts remain unknown.

Previously, leopard sightings in Kundapur were mostly confined to rural areas such as Tekkatte, Molahalli, Badakere, Markodu in Koteshwar, Hombadi, Mandadi, Kalavara, Hardalli Mandalli, Amasebailu, Korgi, Japti, Kodladi, Aluru, and Kannada Kudru. Over the past two to three years, there has been a noticeable increase in leopard sightings across the region.

Forest department operations in the area have led to the capture of eight leopards in traps. Additionally, four leopards have fallen into wells, while three others were found trapped in uncovered pits. All these animals, including a rare black panther, were safely rescued and released back into the wild by the forest department.

In the last five years, the number of leopards captured by the forest department in the region has exceeded 15.