A dog in Karnataka’s Bilinele village found itself locked inside a toilet with a leopard for hours on Wednesday. The two animals were found inside the toilet by a local resident at 7 am and she quickly bolted the door and alerted the police.
Police officials tell TNM that the dog, who was being chased by the leopard, probably tried to hide in the toilet but the leopard managed to follow it inside. The lady of the house entered the toilet and saw the animal’s tail. She immediately locked the door and called her neighbours, Dakshina Kannada SP BM Laxmi Prasad told TNM. Visuals accessed by TNM showed the dog cowering in one corner, trying its best to stay away from the leopard, with just one commode to separate the two.
For the next seven hours, till 2 pm, the animals were shut inside the small room, which is separate from the main house, as authorities determined their course of action. Officials say the animals could have gotten into the room sometime during the night as well.
Around 8.45 am, officials arrived at the spot, but shortly after, crowds began to gather outside the home to try and catch a glimpse of the leopard. Visuals of the incident are being shared widely, showing several officials preparing to catch the leopard, loading a tranquilizer gun and carrying a massive empty cage outside the house in Bilinele.
Other videos show dozens of spectators lining up near the house. In one video, the camera is pointed through a window of the toilet where the two animals are seated. At first, the animals remain still but once the leopard sees the camera, it lunges towards the window, baring its teeth at the person behind it.
Sharing a video I received from the spot. After the leopard and dog were spotted inside the toilet in the morning, curious passers-by joined forest department officials to figure out how to catch the leopard and release it to the forest. pic.twitter.com/9dLzlxTUOO
— Prajwal (@prajwalmanipal) February 3, 2021
Attempting to capture the animal, officials decided to remove the asbestos sheet roof of the toilet to try and tranquilize the leopard. Nets were cast over the top of the toilet in hopes of catching the animal before it fled, SP BM Laxmi Prasad said. Officials used an earthmover to access the roof of the toilet, but the leopard managed to leap through the roof, break away from the nets and flee the scene.
A stray dog was chased by a leopard into a bathroom, were trapped inside in Karnataka this morning. Crazy visuals. Here's the attempt to catch the leopard but it manages to escape. @prajwalmanipal pic.twitter.com/AFeEsilnCL
— Nikhita Venugopal (@nkvenugopal) February 3, 2021
Luckily, no life was lost and the dog was rescued unharmed. Visuals of the rescue show the trembling dog sitting with its tail between its legs, and officials then brought it out of the toilet.
But the dog was safe in the end! Hooray! pic.twitter.com/HDIj1zFLEu
— Nikhita Venugopal (@nkvenugopal) February 3, 2021
According to Austin P Soans, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Sullia sub-division in Subramanya, there was a delay of 30 minutes in getting the transquilizer injections from Mangaluru. The primary challenged faced by officials was the positioning, congested area and damage to the toilet, which made it difficult to trap the leopard. They had hope to catch the leopard and release it into the forest.