A leopard that had strayed out of the forest was trapped in a cage set up by the state forest department at Bhagatpur tea estate in Nagrakata block of Jalpaiguri district on Thursday morning.
Residents said that over the past few weeks, the leopard had been roaming the tea garden, frequently entering the workers’ quarters after dusk.
It preyed on domestic animals, including ducks, chickens, and goats, sparking concern among the workers and their families.
After sunset, most residents stayed indoors to avoid an attack by the leopard.
The leopard had also attacked and injured some workers in the plantations.
Foresters from the Khunia forest range installed a cage at the plantations about a week ago and the leopard was caught in it on Thursday.
Foresters rescued the animal around 7am after they were informed and took it to the nature interpretation centre in Lataguri.
The animal will undergo a health examination and receive necessary treatment there before being released into the forest, a source said.
Pradipta Kundu, an assistant manager of the tea estate, said another leopard was captured in the garden around three months ago.
Kundu also insisted that there was another larger leopard was still in the garden.
“This leopard is relatively small and we believe another, much larger leopard is still roaming the area. Before work begins in the plantations, the workers burst sound crackers to scare off the animal. We have requested the forest department to install another cage so that the other leopard can be captured,” said Kundu.