Injured leopard enters home for shelter in Sindhudurg; rescued and under treatment now

Kolhapur: An injured leopard entered the kitchen of a house in the Dabholi village of Sindhudurg district on Wednesday, sparking panic among residents, before forest department officials rescued the animal and began treatment.People living in the house ran out and called for help after the leopard suddenly entered their kitchen. Forest department officials reached the spot and rescued the leopard. Officials said the leopard had sustained a serious neck injury and entered the house to seek shelter. The leopard is currently undergoing treatment.The incident took place in the Dabholi-Korachiwadi area in Kudal tehsil. The house owner, Vivek Joshi, an orchard farmer, said, "We came across this leopard first in our farmland. As all villagers tried to chase it away, the leopard entered our cattle shed and then directly into the kitchen of my house. My mother was working in the kitchen when she ran out, scared. There was a huge commotion, but the leopard was calm and settled inside the kitchen. It seemed weak."The forest officials said the leopard was wounded and seeking shelter.Sandeep Kumbhar, the range forest officer for Kudal, said, "We reached the incident spot, and with the help of a net and cage, the leopard was captured. It is a 2-year-old female leopard. It had suffered a serious injury to the neck while crossing through a barbed wire fence. As the injury festered, the animal was deprived of food and became extremely weak. The leopard entered the house only to find shelter. It did not attack anyone. The animal is under the care of veterinary officer Dr Sharad Jadhav, and will be released back into the wild once it has recovered."