R B Jagadish
Daijiworld Media Network - Karkala (SP)

Karkala, May 20: A report received from Aikoori in Miyar in the taluk says that a leopard that was chasing a duck belonging to a poultry farmer, lost sight of a well that was located in its path, and fell into it. This incident occurred on the night of Monday May 18.

Obaiah Naik from Aikoori has been rearing ducks. One of his ducks had cultivated the habit of going to sleep on a stack of firewood near the well of the house.

On Tuesday morning, Obaiah was surprised to see that the duck was not to be found in the backyard of his house and after a search, it was seen to be floating in the well water. When making efforts to pull the duck out of the well, he saw that a leopard was hiding in a corner of the well. He thereafter passed on this information to forest department.

The forest officials succeeded in rescuing the leopard with the help of a ladder.

It has been a common practice among the forest staff to catch hold of leopard which intrude into villages in traps, and release them into the forest area at Mala. Many of these leopards, which lose their way, again return to villages in search of food. As a result, the farmers have been losing the cattle and poultry birds to leopards often.

The citizens of Mala, after getting frustrated at the release of leopard in the forest area near their village, have been seen to be keeping a close watch on their poultry and cattle at night. There have been instances in which they had stopped the vehicles bringing leopards to their area, and sent them back.