A leopard was seen in Greater Noida, but officials have not been able to find it (Representational)
Residents of Greater Noida are worried after a leopard was spotted in the city as the forest department launched a search along with local police for the big cat that remained untraceable on Tuesday, officials said.
The leopard was seen on Monday night near Sadullapur area in Greater Noida (West), also known as Noida Extension, after which officials from the local Ecotech 3 police station reached the spot while the forest department was also alerted, they told news agency Press Trust of India.
"A search operation was carried out but the leopard could not be found. The forest department team was joined by the local police in the search," Divisional Forest Officer PK Shrivastava said.
"No leopard pug marks were found either in the area," the officer said, adding that the search was continued till about 3 am but did not fetch any substantial result.
In the past too, leopards have been spotted in human settlements of Greater Noida, which is surrounded by a 200-acres of natural habitat, according to the officials.
A big cat has been seen twice in the Gautam Buddh University campus in May and February, once in the NTPC campus in February this year and once in October 2020, among others, they said.