Hyderabad gets Wild Monsoon surprise

Hyderabad is witnessing a string of unusual wildlife sightings this monsoon. After hosting elephant Lakshmi for Bonalu, the city is now buzzing over a leopard spotted in Gandipet and a crocodile slithering into Kishanbagh, with snake sightings also on the rise

Hyderabad: This monsoon, Hyderabadis are getting a wildlife treat within the city.

First, it was the elephant Lakshmi from Karnataka that stayed in the city for most of the July month participating in Muharram procession, followed by Bonalu processions at various temples.

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No sooner had the elephant returned to its home in Karnataka at the conclusion of Bonalu festivities, a leopard on the prowl spotted Gandipet. The movement of the leopard was captured on the closed-circuit cameras installed in the Greyhounds campus at Gandipet. On Monday again, reports of sightings of the leopard at Taramati Baradari, Golconda kept people hooked to social media platforms.

“A leopard moving so close to the city is unheard of in recent times. That’s why there is a lot of curiosity among citizens. People are hooked to the news channel to know more about it,” said Avinash Kumar, a software professional from Shaikpet.

Many are unaware of the fact that leopards have been staying close to the city for the last several decades. “The forest areas at Shamshabad, Pahadishareef, Himayatsagar, Moinabad, Gandipet, Ibrahimpatnam and Yacharam are home to leopards. The animal stays in the forest and ventures during the night for prey. Occasionally, it is sighted by the public,” said a forest official.

Even as the big cat speculations kept the denizens hooked, the news of a crocodile slithering down at Asad Baba Nagar in Kishanbagh came. A group of people spotted the crocodile at the Musi river bed at Kishanbagh and alerted the police. Apart, the citizens are also complaining of snakes venturing into human habitats around the city.