PAMPORE: Wildlife Department launched a search operation to trap a leopard sighting in Wuyan village of the Pampore area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district on Wednesday.

Wildlife Department Range Khrew launched the search operation after locals spotted a leopard at Khachur Mohalla Wuyan village of Pampore. “We received a call about the presence of the leopard at Khachur Mohalla Wuyan and a rescue team with tranquilizer guns rushed to the spot,” an official told Kashmir Reader, adding that a trap has been laid in the village to catch the leopard.

Local residents told that a leopard was spotted in the area on Tuesday evening after which they informed the wildlife department.

“We called officials of the wildlife department after the leopard was spotted in Khachur Mohalla Wuyan,” a local resident Imtiyaz Ahmad said, adding that the presence of the leopard has a created scare among the residents.

The leopard has also killed three dogs at night.

Wildlife Ranger Khrew Range Khursheed Ahmad said that they received information from locals regarding the presence of a leopard in the area. “Yesterday evening a call was received that a leopard was roaming in Khachur Mohalla Wuyan, a rescue team reached the spot and search started a search operation to track and trap the leopard,” he said.

“We inspected the area and found some evidence of the presence of the leopard in the area,” he said, adding that it had preyed on a few dogs in the area.

He said a trap has been laid and their team is monitoring the situation, we are hopeful that the leopard will be captured soon.

BILAL HABIB