Leopard spotted in Greater Noida, Forest department launches search for the feline

The leopard was spotted near Sadullapur in Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension, on Monday night.

Image courtesy: ANI (file pic)

Noida: Residents of Greater Noida were thrown into a tizzy after a leopard was spotted in the area as the forest department launched a search along with local police for the feline that remained untraceable on Tuesday, officials said.

The leopard was spotted on Monday night near Sadullapur in Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension, after which officials from the local Ecotech 3 police station reached the spot while the forest department was also alerted, they said.

"A search operation was carried out but the leopard could not be found. The forest department team was joined by the local police in the search," Divisional Forest Officer P K Shrivastava said.

"No leopard pug marks were found either in the area," the officer said, adding that the search was continued till about 3 am but did not fetch any substantial result.

In the past also, leopards have been spotted in human settlements of Greater Noida, which is surrounded by a 200-acre natural habitat for the feline, according to the officials.

The big cat has been spotted twice in the Gautam Buddh University campus in May and February, once in the NTPC campus in February this and once in October 2020, among others, they said.