An adult leopard was trapped in a cage at the plantations of the Toonbari tea estate in the Malbazar subdivision of Jalpaiguri on Tuesday.
Locals found the leopard inside the cage in the morning. They informed foresters and a team from the wildlife squad stationed in Malbazar rescued the animal.
A source said the animal had strayed into the garden a few days ago and began taking away cattle and poultry from the workers’ quarters. The concerned workers and their families informed the forest department who installed a cage on the plantations.
Forest officials said the rescued leopard, a fully grown male, was taken to the nature interpretation centre in Lataguri. “It will be kept under observation before being released into the wild,” said a forester.
The workers of Toonbari said that their garden and the neighbouring Malnadi and Dalimkot tea estates have experienced frequent leopard intrusions in recent months.
“We suspect that there might be more leopards in our garden as well as in these two tea estates. The forest department should install more cages to trap these animals,” said a worker.