Udupi: Personnel of the Forest Department rescued a leopard which had fallen into a well at Hunsemakki hamlet in Hombady-Mandady Gram Panchayat near Kundapur in Udupi district on Friday.

The leopard had come in search of prey at around 2 a.m. It caught a seven-month-old dog at the house of Lata Kulalti. After catching the dog, it was in the process of jumping over and escaping, when it fell into the 15-20 feet deep well.

It was a well with rings around it. After it fell into the well, it let go off the dog. It got frightened but it managed to go and sit on a slightly broad ring in the well. Since the dog was barking all the time from the well, members of the household woke up. They saw the dog in the well and the leopard on the ring nearby.

They informed the Kota Police and the Forest Department about it. Sharath Shetty, Range Forest Officer, Kundapur, told that the people from the house lowered a small basket and managed to get the dog out.

Meanwhile, the Forest Department staff visited the place and decided to rescue the leopard in the morning. Accordingly, the staff arrived at the hamlet with a small cage at around 9 a.m. At around 9.15 a.m., they lowered the cage which was tied with ropes from all four sides.

One staff member goaded the leopard to get into the cage with a long stick from above. After lot of efforts, the leopard got into the cage. The cage was then slowly lifted from the well. The entire operation to rescue the leopard took an hour-and-a-half. “It was a male leopard about five or six years old. It was very healthy,” Mr. Shetty said.

A large number of people gathered near the well to watch the rescue operation. Thereafter, the cage with the leopard was placed on a vehicle was taken to the Mookambika Wildlife Sanctuary, where the animal was released.