Leopard causes chaos in India. Breaks into India Hospital

A leopard leaps across a construction site near a furniture market in the Degumpur residential area in Meerut, India on Sunday. The leopard sparked panic in the Indian city when it strayed into a hospital, a theater and an apartment complex before evading captors.
District magistrate Pankaj Yadav said: “We have closed schools and colleges in the town because we are unable to locate the leopard and do not want to take any chances. This is only a precautionary measure.

We are yet to locate the leopard. We have got calls from some areas but are still unable to trace its exact location.”

Officials said they were investigating reports that it had strayed into Meerut from the nearby forests.

Rescue teams of wildlife experts have been called in to help tranquilize and capture the animal, officials said.

There are no reliable population estimates for leopards in India, but rough estimates put their number at about 10,000.

Tigers and other big cats have been known to stray into populated areas and conservationists have warned that such confrontations may increase as humans encroach on animal habitats.