Big cat strikes panic in Maharashtra's Chandrapur

Panic loomed large among the residents of Ballarpur village in Maharashtra on Monday(April 21) after a leopard hid on the rooftop of a house and on being found, ran amok, bringing back the horrors of man-animal conflict in settlements in the vicinity of wildlife.

A leopard strayed into a human settlement in Chandrapur district scaring the residents and forcing them to run helter-skelter to save their lives.

It attacked another resident while people tried to corner it.

No injuries have been reported in the incident.

Meanwhile, the animal, itself scared, ran into the bathroom of a hut to hide from the crowd.

Reportedly, the Forest Department has caught the leopard and is in the process of releasing it into the wild.

Illegal deforestation, logging, earth-cutting and extension of residential settlements and croplands into reserved forests and hillocks have reduced the natural habitat of animals, forcing animals to wander around in search of food.