BENGALURU: In a dramatic replay of last year’s viral incident where a child in Maharashtra calmly locked a leopard inside his home while playing a mobile game, a courageous couple in Bengaluru’s Jigani area successfully trapped a leopard that had wandered into their house early Thursday morning.

The incident, which took place in Kuntlu Reddy Layout, turned into a major challenge for forest officials as over 2,000 people gathered on rooftops to witness the spectacle. After a tense five-hour operation, the leopard was safely rescued.

Leopard Enters Home as Couple Has Coffee

The leopard entered the ground floor of a three-story building at around 7 AM while Venkatesh, who was recovering from a leg injury, and his wife Venkatalakshmi were watching TV and sipping coffee in their living room. The big cat quietly walked past them and into a room, leaving the couple momentarily frozen in shock.

However, they quickly regained their composure, rushed out, and locked the house from outside before seeking help. “When locals alerted us around 7:30 AM, we were shocked, as there is no green cover within a 2-kilometer radius,” said V. Ganesh, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru South subdivision.

High-Tech Search Through a Video Call

Forest officials, along with the Leopard Task Force, arrived within 30 minutes. However, locating the animal inside the compact 1BHK house was tricky, as rushing in blindly could have been dangerous.

“We sketched the house layout and decided to use a mobile phone to scout for the leopard. With visibility poor due to cloudy conditions, we strapped a phone to a stick and inserted it through a ventilation window, using a video call to search,” Ganesh explained. After half an hour, the team spotted the leopard’s eyes reflecting from underneath a cot in the corner of the room.

Precision Rescue Using Sedatives

Darting the frightened leopard was the next challenge. “A wrong move could have startled it, putting both the animal and the crowd at risk,” said Ganesh. With thousands gathered outside, forcing the leopard out wasn’t an option.

The team carefully entered through the main door and secured the room from outside before administering a sedative shot through a narrow gap. “Fortunately, the leopard got stuck in place, allowing the sedative to take effect without complications,” said one of the foresters involved.

After confirming the leopard was fully sedated, officials entered the room at around 12:30 PM and safely rescued the animal, a six-to-seven-year-old female.