Ulhasnagar, March 18: A leopard entered a residential building in Ulhasnagar in Thane district of Maharashtra in the wee hours of Sunday. The leopard was later rescued by forest department officials. As per reports, forest officials claimed they were not sure as to how the animal managed to reach the site.

The leopard was caught entering the building on CCTV camera. When residents checked the footage near the entrance gate, to their surprise, they saw the leopard entering and leaping over a wall.

Take a look at the video:

Reports state that forest department officials were searching the leopard for several hours before they managed to rescue the animal from a residential building. "After several rounds of search, we managed to spot and tranquilise the animal. He will be transported shortly," Range Forest Officer Santosh Kank was quoted by Indian Express. The report further added that residents of the multi-storeyed building in Bhatiya Chowk were alerted by security guards of a nearby tutorial class.

Soon as the leopard was spotted, the forest officials and the fire department with the help of the locals arrived at the spot began the search. One of the resident was quoted in the report said that it is shocking how the leopard managed to come in the middle of a bustling town.

According to Wildlife Protection Society of India (WPSI), at least 21 lost their lives in the first half of March, taking the toll to 127.  The study reveals that leopard deaths between March 1 and 15 reported from different parts of the country included a total 12 cases of "seizure and poaching". Nine other cases were classified as "mortality". According to official records mentioned in an IANS report, a total of 431 leopards died in 2017. These included 159 incidents of poaching. Meanwhile, some 450 big cats died in 2016 and 127 of them were found poached.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 18, 2018 05:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).