Karnataka: An errant leopard puts India state in danger

• In the state of Karnataka in southern India, a hunt to capture an elusive leopard has been ongoing for more than 27 days.
• When the animal assaulted a laborer in the heavily populated Belgaum city in northern Karnataka on August 5, it first made the news.
• The creatures have frequently been seen in the state’s largest towns, including Bangalore and Mysore.

In the state of Karnataka in southern India, a hunt to capture an elusive leopard has been ongoing for more than 27 days.

When the animal assaulted a laborer in the heavily populated Belgaum city in northern Karnataka on August 5, it first made the news. Despite being hurt, the victim survived the assault.

Since then, it has occasionally been seen near a golf course in the city, alarming locals.

Around 300 people, including veterinarians, sharpshooters, and anesthetists, have been hired by the state’s forest department to catch the leopard and release it into a forest, but the effort has been a failure thus far.

The matter has also sparked a political uproar, with opposition MPs calling for the resignation of the state’s forest minister, Umesh Katti, who claimed he would do so if it meant “the leopard will be captured.” The Bharatiya Janata Party is in charge of Karnataka (BJP).

“There has been a lot of public pressure to catch the leopard soon, so more personnel have been pressed into service,” Vijayakumar Gogi, a top forest official in the state, told the media.

Conservationists contend that the massive effort and associated media attention may actually make it more difficult to capture the elusive animal.

Leopards are timid animals, but as their habitats disappear, there have been countless stories over the years of them entering Indian villages and cities in search of prey.

According to government statistics, Karnataka, which has a substantial forest area and numerous wildlife sanctuaries, has 1,783 leopards, the second-highest number in the nation. The creatures have frequently been seen in the state’s largest towns, including Bangalore and Mysore.

The effort is being led by Anthony S. Mariappa, a Belgaum forest official, who claims that people are panicking because this is the first time a leopard has been spotted in Belgaum city.

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