Leopard injures five people at Indian school

A male leopard that wandered into a school in the Indian city of Bangalore injured six people who had tried to capture it.

Photos of the incident show the leopard prowling around the closed Vibgyor International school, and trying to maul forestry officials as well as a wildlife activist and other people who came to close.

Footage from the school’s security cameras show the leopard attacking a man lying on the ground who uses his hands to try and defend himself, and sinking its claws into another man’s leg as he tries to climb a gate.

Ravi Ralph, chief wildlife officer in Karanataka state, said the leopard probably entered the school from a nearby forest by jumping over the compound’s wall.

“The leopard was caught and caged after a four-hour operation, when it was trapped in a room with one tranquiliser shot through a wire-meshed ventilator,” Ralph said.

It was taken to Bangalore’s Bannerghatta zoo for observation and later released into the forest. The six injured people, including a cameraperson of a TV channel, have been treated for minor injuries.

Leopards and other big cats have been known to stray into populated areas, and conservationists have warned that such confrontations may increase as humans encroach on animal habitats.

Last year, a male leopard spent five hours with its head stuck in a metal pot in a village in the northern state of Rajasthan.