Jaipur, Nov 26 A leopard has once again triggered panic in Jaipur, this time in Vidyadhar Nagar.
The big cat reportedly entered Sector 10 late Tuesday night and killed a calf in the wee hours.
Residents discovered the carcass in the morning and immediately alerted the Forest Department.
Locals in the area said, "Around 2 a.m., dogs were barking loudly. When I checked, everything seemed normal, so I went back to sleep. In the morning, we found the calf dead in the temple garden. The leopard had killed the calf."
They confirmed the report was immediately shared with authorities.
Officials have launched a search operation after identifying fresh paw marks in the area. This is the second major leopard sighting in the city within six days.
On November 20, a leopard entered Jaipur's high-security Civil Lines area, moving past the residence of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot before entering the bungalow of Cabinet Minister Suresh Rawat.
It later entered a school and was tranquilised after several hours.
The rescue operation involved more than 30 personnel, including senior officers, owing to the densely populated nature of the locality. The leopard was finally tranquillised inside a house in Lane No. 6 at around 11 a.m., after which the teams were seen busy preparing to transport it to Jhalana Reserve.
Vidyadhar Nagar has witnessed leopard sightings several times.
In June, a leopard was seen on the rooftops in Sector 8.
In December last year, another leopard entered a Central Government guest house before running through residential lanes for nearly four hours before being rescued.
Leopard sightings have been reported from several parts of Jaipur in recent months, including Civil Lines, Vidyadhar Nagar, Durgapura, Gopalpura, Jaisinghpura, Jagatpura, Malviya Nagar Industrial Area and Kho Nagorian.
Forest officials said the frequent movement is linked to declining prey availability in nearby forest areas, pushing leopards closer to settled human zones.
The situation has created significant challenges for both the Forest Department and local police.
Wildlife experts believe that shrinking habitat and scarcity of prey in forested regions have pushed leopards closer to human settlements.
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