"Alipurduar: Adult leopard caged in tea garden, set free at Buxa Tiger Reserve", April 6 2023

Alipurduar: An adult male leopard which was on the prowl in the Mechpara Tea Estate in Kalchini block, Alipurduar district, was finally caged on Thursday morning. The big cat fell into the trap laid by the forest department. On Thursday morning, garden workers found the leopard caged in the ‘out division’ of the garden. Foresters later took the animal to Buxa Tiger Reserve and released it. Praveen Kaswan, deputy field director of Buxa Tiger Reserve (west) stated: ‘’About fifteen days ago, we received a correspondence from the management of Mechpara Tea Garden regarding the presence of a leopard and attack on workers. The leopard was posing a danger and the tea garden authorities requested in writing for it to be captured. Based on the request and field situation, a cage was set in the tea garden and regular patrolling and scanning were undertaken by the Hamiltonganj range staff.” On Thursday morning, the leopard was captured in a cage from the 17/B division of the Mechpara Tea Garden area. After a medical check-up, the leopard was released successfully and in a healthy condition in the core area of the tiger reserve.