Karnataka calls off month-long search for Belagavi leopard

Karnataka has called off a search for a prowling leopard in Belagavi which lasted a month and deployed up to 300 personnel in the final stages.

Officials called off 'Operation Leopard' saying the leopard, which was reportedly trapped in a 250-acre Golf Club, managed to sneak off into the Mundoli forest area in the northern district.

Reports said 300 personnel from the forest, police department, sharpshooters; two elephants; anesthetic experts, wildlife experts and local hunter tribes worked day and night in vain to catch the big cat.


How it managed to give the slip to so many people is not known, but officials said there was no movement by the animal for over a week and that locals had seen it moving towards the forest area.

To make doubly sure, crackers were burst and the whole premises combed to confirm that the leopard wasn't there.

A total of 23 trap cameras and 8 towers had been put up in the Golf Club area to watch the leopard's movements, IANS reported. These will be kept there for a few more days, while the two elephants will be sent back to their camp in Shivamogga.

More than 20,000 students in the area, who were forced to switch to online classes because of the leopard menace, can go back to their schools and colleges from Monday.

The operation started after the leopard attacked a construction laborer in Jadhav Nagar on Aug 5.

Authorities then kept dogs in cages to lure the leopard to go in for an attack, but the beast outwitted them every time even as they changed locations

As the operation stretched on for days and weeks, they were also subjected to a lot of online jokes.