Forest Department personnel rescued a leopard which had fallen into an open well at Vattavayal, near Vythiri in the district, on Friday.
Officials suspected that the leopard fell into the well while chasing prey in front of the house a private individual.
When Gopi, the house owner, discovered the leopard around 6.30 a.m , he alerted the Forest Department, who soon arrived at the spot.
A Rapid Response Team from Sulthan Bathery was also brought in for the rescue operation.
Crowd control
As the word spread, hundreds of people arrived to see the leopard. Forest Department personnel had a tough time controlling the crowd as many people started taking photographs and videos.
Officials finally dispersed the crowd as they were worried that the noise would further agitate the leopard.
According to South Wayanad Forest divisional officer B. Ranjith, the male leopard aged about three years had fallen into the well which was about 35 ft deep and which had about 5 ft of water in it.
Tranquillised
The rapid response team and department personnel tranquillised the leopard and extricated it from the well around 10.30 a.m.
Forest veterinary surgeon Arun Zachariah administered the tranquilliser dart. Later, the leopard was transported in a cage to the wildlife rescue centre at Lakkidi for observation.
“The leopard is healthy and was not injured,” Mr. Ranjith said.
