Leopard rescued after becoming impaled on metal railings

A leopard which was struck on iron railings outside a factory in India battled for survival for nearly three hours before being rescued on Monday. Its condition is stable despite a deep injury on its thigh region.

The female big cat, aged around 4 years, seems to have got struck while jumping over a 7-ft compound of the BEML factory, some 12 kms away from Mysore city in Tamil Nadu. The incident came to light after security personnel alerted forest officials at around 7.30 am. ACF Durgegowda said that they rushed a rescue team to the spot soon after they were tipped off and rescued the animal with an hour.

The injured big cat was treated at a government Veterinary hospital on Dhavanthri road and later shifted to Bannerghatta Biological Park in Bangalore. The officer suspects that the leopard may have got struck during pre-dawn hours. Durgegowda says leopards generally don't move around during the day time and suspecting it may have got struck before day break.

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Animal husbandry and Veterinary service assistant director Dr S C Suresh, who treated the cat, said the female leopard had sustained an injury to its thigh and abdomen region. There was 3-inch deep wound in its right thigh region but luckily there was no serious internal injury and blood loss. Despite the injury, the cat was healthy and strong and they had to anesthetize it twice to operate. He said they sew up the wound using chromium catgut and hoped it would survive. Suresh said they have administered antibiotics, painkillers and tetanus.