Wild cat spotted during search for leopard near Bhubaneswar

Personnel of the Odisha forest department spotted a wild cat near the Biju Patnaik International Airport here on Sunday, a day after a woman claimed to have sighted a leopard near the facility's dump yard area, an official said on Sunday. The forest department had launched a search operation on Saturday following the claim, the official said.

"Till now, we have not found any tiger or leopard in the area. In the early morning, we sighted a wild cat moving around in that area," the Forest Ranger, Bhubaneswar, Radhakanta Hota, said.

Trap cameras have also been installed in the airport area. Wildlife experts will examine the visuals and confirm further details, he said.

Earlier on Saturday morning, the woman, a worker at the dump yard, claimed to have spotted a leopard there, Hota said.

Forest officials and the local police scanned the area carrying nets, traps and other equipment on Saturday, but could not find any trace of a leopard.

In 2019, a leopard was caught from the Bhubaneswar airport premises and released in the nearby Chandaka forest.