Leopard rescued from abandoned well in Prakasam district, Andhra

ONGOLE: After nearly 24 hours of struggle, the forest department officials on Thursday were able to rescue a leopard that got stuck in an abandoned well in Devanagaram village of Giddalur mandal in Prakasam district.

According to the forest officials, on Wednesday the leopard was suspected to have jumped into the well, which is 9.5 feet deep, in search of food and was unable to climb up.

The unexpected sighting of the leopard has created panic among the locals, who informed the same to the forest officials. With help of Tirupati Forest Rescue Team, the officials reached the spot and began the rescue operation. Besides giving their efforts to save the wild animal, the officials also provided food and water to the leopard.

After several attempts, the forest officials successfully rescued the leopard at around 7.50 pm on Thursday. The animal was caged and shifted for medical treatment. Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) deputy director YV Narasimha Rao monitored the rescue operation and informed that the leopard will be released back into the deep forest.