Kuno Palpur Sanctuary; expert roped in to catch wandering leopards

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Even after their best attempts, Kuno Palpur Sanctuary (Sheopur) officials have been unable to catch three wandering leopards. Now, sanctuary officials have roped in experts from Wildlife Institute of India to trap them. The rainy season and tall grass are posing a challenge in tracing leopards.

So far, efforts to catch the wandering leopards by placing cages proved unsuccessful. Sources in Kuno Palpur Sanctuary said that rain increased the vegetation. The grass has grown big, which makes it difficult to trace leopards.

Worse, rain washes off pug marks. A senior officer of Kuno Palpur sanctuary told Free Press that once a wild animal sees the cage and does not fall prey to bait, then it stops going towards that area.

Kanpur Palpur Sanctuary DFO Prakash Kumar Verma said an expert from Wildlife Institute of India had been roped in to catch the wandering leopards. Besides camera traps, three veterinarians have deputed to catch leopards with the help of tranquiliser guns.

The leopards are moving in areas marked for cheetahs to be brought from Namibia and South Africa. So far, the date for the arrival of cheetahs has not been announced. They were to arrive by August 15 earlier.

Leopards may pose a challenge to cheetahs (on arrival) and hence Kuno Palpur Sanctuary officials are making efforts to catch the wandering leopards and shift them somewhere else.