Panic continues to sweep through Udham Singh Nagar district in Uttarakhand as a leopard’s reign of fear persists. In a dramatic development, the elusive predator was finally cornered and trapped inside a cage in Kashipur town late last night. Local residents had been living on the edge for days, with reports of the big cat prowling residential areas, livestock vanishing overnight, and children too scared to step outside.
The incident unfolded in Kashipur’s outskirts, where the leopard had been sighted multiple times over the past week. Forest officials, responding to frantic calls from villagers, set up elaborate traps equipped with bait and camera surveillance. After hours of tense waiting, their efforts paid off around midnight when the animal walked right into the steel cage, triggering the capture mechanism.
Eyewitnesses described the moment with bated breath. ‘We heard the roar and then the clang of the cage door,’ said Ramesh Kumar, a local farmer whose goats had been attacked earlier. The captured leopard, believed to be a healthy adult male, appeared aggressive but uninjured. Veterinary teams quickly sedated it for safe transport.
This isn’t an isolated case. Udham Singh Nagar has seen a spike in human-wildlife conflicts this monsoon season, attributed to shrinking habitats and abundant prey pushing leopards into human settlements. Experts point to rapid urbanization eating into forest corridors as the root cause. In the last month alone, similar incidents have been reported from nearby areas, prompting calls for better fencing and awareness drives.
Forest department officials hailed the operation as a success, crediting community cooperation. ‘Our teams worked round-the-clock, and the villagers’ patience was key,’ stated Divisional Forest Officer Anita Joshi. The leopard will now undergo health checks at a rescue center before decisions on relocation or release into a protected zone.
As dawn broke over Kashipur, a collective sigh of relief echoed through the streets. Schools reopened, markets buzzed back to life, but the underlying tension lingers. Residents demand long-term solutions to prevent future scares. With wildlife encroachment on the rise, Uttarakhand’s fragile balance between man and beast hangs in precarious equilibrium, underscoring the urgent need for conservation amid development.