In an alerting incident a woman working near the Bhubaneswar’s Biju Patnaik International Airport’s dump yard claimed to have spotted a leopard at Bhubaneswar airport followed by which security was tightened at the Airport. Personnel from the Odisha Forest Department, in collaboration with local police, initiated a search operation at Bhubaneswar Airport on Saturday. The alarm was raised after sparking widespread concern in the area.
Forest department officials did a thorough search with the local police, but no trace of the leopard was found. When they used nets, traps, and other specialized gear and meticulously scanned the area, officials found traces of pug marks resembling those of a jackal. This led to ruling out the presence of a leopard for the time being. “The pug marks found were not clearly visible due to recent rain, but initial observations suggest they were left by a jackal,” a forest department deputy ranger explained.
Further, to ensure the absence of a leopard, the forest team tied some chickens nearby,a measure intended to attract the leopard if it were indeed lurking in the vicinity. As the operation unfolded, three dedicated teams continued to comb the high-security area around the airport’s dumping grounds, but in the end they could not find any traces of leopard. Meanwhile, after a day of this incident, a Personnel of the Odisha forest department spotted a wild cat near the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Sunday. And officials said on Sunday that the lady might have mistaken the wild cat to be a leopard. However, until now there is no Leopard in the area.
This leopard scare is a serious one and cannot be overlooked because the claimed incident had actually taken place in 2019. Where in the same airport, a leopard had indeed infiltrated the premises. After being spotted scaling a boundary wall, the animal was eventually captured on CCTV footage and was later trapped and safely released into the nearby Chandaka forest. However, Saturday’s operation proved less conclusive, as officials continued their search but found no definitive signs of the big cat. However, Local authorities continue to monitor the area around the airport and appealed the public to report any unusual animal sightings.