Hyderabad: The forest officials declared the reports of sighting a leopard at Miyapur were not true and that the animal was a wild cat.
Following reports of a leopard-like animal moving around the Miyapur metro station on Friday, October 18, a team of forest officials reached the colony and searched the area.
Videos of the alleged leopard sighting in Miyapur went viral and reportedly caused a stir among Hyderabad residents and commuters late on Friday. The creature was reportedly spotted behind the Miyapur Metro Station.
The principal chief conservator of forests (HoFF), RMDobriyal, immediately dispatched teams after the video surfaced.
The officials after examining the footprints and visuals of closed circuit cameras found a wild cat was moving in the area. Local residents heaved a sigh of relief on Saturday after the officials clarified about it.
Leopard spotted near Hyderabad airport
In May, a leopard was caught near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport (RGIA) in Shamshabad on the city outskirts.
After an operation lasting for five days, the forest officials trapped the big cat in a cage when it approached the live bait tied inside.
The three-year-old male leopard was shifted to Nehru Zoological Park and later released into forests.
Later, a leopard was also sighted near the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) at Patancheru near Hyderabad.
(Wint inputs from IANS)
