Forest Department tracking leopard knocked down by vehicle in Coimbatore

Forest Department tracks leopard hit by motorcycle in Gudalur, using drone cameras to ensure animal's safety.

The Forest Department is attempting to track a leopard that was knocked down by a motorcycle near Nadugani in the Gudalur forest division on Thursday morning.

According to eyewitnesses, a Gudalur resident was proceeding along the Gudalur - Kozhikode road when a leopard, which was trying to cross the road, ran into his vehicle. In the incident, the motorcyclist was thrown off his vehicle and sustained minor injuries, while the leopard lay strewn across the middle of the road for a few minutes.

Onlookers began filming videos of the leopard, but fortunately, exercised caution and did not venture too close to the stricken animal. A few minutes after the incident occurred, the animal began showing signs of movement, and quickly ran into the surrounding forests.

Though it did not show any signs of injuries, the Department is actively seeking the animal to ensure that it did not suffer any injuries. Divisional Forest Officer (Gudalur), Vengatesh Prabhu, said that drone cameras were being used to look for the leopard, and that thermal drone cameras would be used after dusk to search the surrounding areas for signs of the animal.

He said that if the leopard was found to have any injuries, the Forest Department would consider treating it.