Leopard hiding in Dehradun airport rescued

Rishikesh, Dec 02: A leopard, which had strayed into the Jollygrant airport and hid itself in a pipe inside its premises, has been rescued by Forest Department personnel, officials said on Wednesday.

Terrified by the high decibel sound of incoming and outgoing flights, the sub-adult leopard, which had hid itself in a pipe near the new terminal building, remained cowering inside it throughout the day, Sub-Divisional Forest Officer GS Martolia said.

However, when calm returned to the airport after the departure of the last flight on Tuesday evening, the big cat emerged out of the pipe and was caged by a Forest Department team, he said, adding that the rescue effort lasted for nearly 10 hours.

The leopardess has been kept at Badkot range of Dehradun forest division from where it will be released into the wild after a test of its vital parameters by experts from the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun DFO Rajiv Dhiman said.

The animal had jumped over the boundary walls to enter the airport premises on Tuesday morning, creating a scare among the airport staff.

The airport is surrounded by reserved forests on three sides.