A leopard injured in a vehicle collision attacked a forest department employee during a rescue operation near Anagodu village on National Highway 48 in Davangere district on Tuesday morning, prompting officials to tranquilise the animal and move it to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Zoological Park near Hampi for treatment.
The five-year-old male leopard had been struck by a vehicle while crossing the highway on Monday night. It was found injured on the roadside, and forest department personnel reached the location after receiving information about the animal on Tuesday morning.
The staff began efforts to capture the leopard safely when it suddenly lunged at forest department employee Marulasiddappa. The animal bit and injured him during the attack. Other personnel at the site rescued him and admitted him to a hospital for treatment.
Staff from Hospet in Vijayanagara district later reached the location and administered a tranquilising injection to the leopard. After it lost consciousness, officials provided preliminary treatment before transporting it to the Hampi zoo for further care.
Davangere Assistant Conservator of Forests Anand B. said the leopard had suffered an injury to its spinal column in the collision. He said the animal became aggressive and attacked suddenly after being disturbed by people shouting at the site.
“The leopard’s backbone has been injured due to the accident. The aggressive leopard suddenly attacked because of the people’s shouting,” Anand said, according to the forest department’s account. He added that the animal had been sent to the Hampi zoo for further treatment and that a decision on whether it could be released back into the wild would be taken later.
The incident occurred during a rescue response on a national highway, where the injured animal had remained close to the road after the collision. The forest department’s intervention focused first on restraining the leopard, treating its injuries and moving it away from the highway.
Karnataka minister K. S. Basavантappa visited the hospital and enquired about the condition of the injured forest employee, Marulasiddappa. The leopard’s treatment and its possible return to the forest will be decided after the animal’s condition is assessed at the Hampi zoo.
