Runaway leopard shot dead in Gadag

The leopard, which had escaped from a Zoo in Gadag in north Karnataka about a month ago, was finally traced and shot dead by the forest and police department personnel.

The leopard was gunned down when it had taken shelter in the bathroom of a house in a village on the outskirts of Gadag after attacking a 35-year-old household member.

Though the forest department officials had launched a hunt for the leopard, which had escaped from the Binkadkatte Zoo by breaking open a wooden floor of the cage and leaping across six feet high wall a month ago, the efforts remained futile.

But, the leopard strayed into the house of Basanagowda Patil on Wednesday and attacked him. An injured Patil ran out of the house and raised an alarm. A large number of people from the village gathered around the house and created a ruckus, forcing the big cat to take refuge in the bathroom.

Soon, police officials arrived in the village and opened fire at the leopard. Out of the four gun-shots, one hit the leopard’s eye and another his forehead. The police official’s decision to shoot the runaway leopard was justified by the forest department officials. For, there was a possibility of the big cat leaping out of the bathroom, which had no roof, and attacking more people.

The leopard, which was gunned down, had become part of the folklore in Gadag ever since it had accidentally strayed into a school compound in Hubli around two months ago. The forest department officials had managed to capture the leopard alive in a four-hour-long operation and shifted it to the Bindatkatte Zoo. But, the ferocious leopard had made good his escape, spreading panic among the residents of surrounding villages.