Video of leopard strolling in house puts Coonoor residents on alert

Udhagamandalam: CCTV footage of a leopard strolling in the drawing room of a house in the Coonoor range has created a panic among locals.The 5-minute long footage which was first shared in a Coonoor residents’ WhatsApp group has since gone viral on social media. “The timestamp in footage showed the leopard entering the house at 4.25am on Tuesday. No specific location was given.,” said M Shiva, a resident of Alakarai in Coonoor taluk, and a member of the WhatsApp group.“We have informed the forest department and asked them to find the exact location of the house so as to alert other residents in the area,” he added. Saravana Kumar, assistant conservator of forests told TOI, “Forest staff are trying to find the exact location of the house. We are also monitoring the possible locations of leopard movements based on previous reports. The person who has posted the video could have given the exact location at least for the sake of the public.”Straying of leopards in residential areas in the Coonoor range has increased in recent months.