Srinagar: A leopard seen last week in Srinagar’s Rawalpora area is yet to be trapped even as the Wildlife Department has permanently stationed its two teams in the area.
A top official from the Wildlife Department supervising the operation of caging the wild animal said that for the last 48 hours, they did not receive any evidence of sighting of the leopard in the area. “However, we have stationed our two teams there till the animal is trapped,” he said.
He said the teams will be monitoring the area round-the-clock and are fully equipped with all required gears. “Since last evening, we haven’t received any concrete evidence on the movement of the animal, but our teams are on the ground with active monitoring as cameras have also been installed,” he said.
The official said the Rawalpora axis and its adjoining areas under a radius of 2-3 km are full of vegetation with thick bushes, and many plots and buildings are lying open which can prove a safe habitat for the wild animal.
“Sometimes it takes too long to capture, and in a few places, it took us months to cage the animal,” he said. “It is a scare created by a wild animal, not by any human whom we can warn, but we are on it; and as soon as we get to see its presence, our teams are swift and trained to capture it,” he added.
Urging the people to adhere to the advisory of the Wildlife Department, the official said the people should be careful, especially with the children, while venturing out during morning and evening hours
“We have already advised and sensitised the people in the areas and have also involved mohallah committees to keep the surroundings free of any bushes or any vegetation so that no animal takes shelter,” the official said—(KNO)
