Spotted: Leopard strays into Bengaluru school on Sunday

A leopard strayed into a Bengaluru school on Sunday, and eluded forest personnel for 10 hours before it was finally captured.

All the drama began on Sunday a little before 4 am when the security guard saw the big cat at the Vibgyor school in Whitefield, near Bengaluru and raised the alarm.

Police and the forest officials soon reached, but struggled to capture the leopard, which prowled the campus for hours. Six people including three photo-journalists were attacked and injured by the leopard.

In the CCTV footage, the leopard is seen wandering around the corridors. From there it entered what appeared to be the backyard and climbed the wall of the swimming pool.

The footage also shows a forest official grappling with the big cat at the side of the swimming pool. He sustained a minor injury.

The feline was finally tranquilised after a day long operation, and the six injured persons, including a veterinarian, have been shifted to a nearby hospital, officials said.

A forest department official said the tranquilised leopard was taken to BannerghattaBiologicalPark. “It has been tranquilised and taken in a cage to Bannerghatta. After looking into its health condition, we will leave it in the forest,” he said.

The scene of the attack was captured by television channels which had arrived at the spot to cover the operation.

Photographs: PTI