Thaindian News

Gurgaon, July 11 (IANS) A five-year-old female leopard was recovered from a country villa in the Aravali area of Gurgaon, a satellite town of the national capital, an official said Sunday.
“The owner of the farmhouse set a trap and caught the leopard after it ate up his dog. We have taken the custody (of the leopard) and will release it into the forest again,” a wildlife official said.

However, the villagers who informed the officials were angry as they said country villa owners have encroached on the forest area. They said the Aravali area is a forest area and wild animals are always present there.

“The farmhouses have come up illegally and human beings have encroached the forest area. They should understand this and should not catch leopards,” said Ram Pal, a local.

In March 2008 also, wildlife officials caught a leopard from the area and few months after the incident a leopard died in an accident on a national highway.

“Most of the owners don’t live in their farmhouses and come on weekends only. Leopard sighting is normal but they never hurt anyone,” the wildlife official said.

Farmhouses are a euphemism for country villas that are built on agricultural land but where no agricultural activities take place.