Leopard Mauled Six As It Strolls Into Indian School (Photos)

A male leopard which entered a school in the Indian city of
Bangalore injured six people trying to capture it. A scientist and a forestry
employee were among those mauled during the near 10-hour long effort to corner
the dangerous animal on Sunday.

The leopard, which strolled into the Vibgyor International
school, was eventually tranquillised and released. The eight-year-old male was
spotted strolling inside the school premises in the Kundalahalli area, but
thank God it was a Sunday!

Footage on the school’s security cameras showed it first attacking
a man near a swimming pool, before forest department employees came to corner
it.

“It was a long struggle to capture the leopard.
Although it was injected with tranquillisers it could be captured only around
20.15 local time when the medication took full effect,” senior police
official S Boralingaiah told reporters yesterday.

It has been gathered that the leopard possibly strayed into
the school from a patch of a forest not far from the school.

The captured animal has been moved to a national park and
the six injured people, including a cameraperson of a TV channel, have been
treated for minor injuries.

Leopards and other big cats have been known to stray into
populated areas, and conservationists have warned that such confrontations may
increase as humans encroach on animal habitats.