In a bizarre incident, a leopard in Rajsa and Rajasthan district wandered into a human haƄitat in water Ƅusca and got its head stuck in an aluminum utensil with a narrow opening.

After 10 hours of fighting, the frightened animal was put out of its misery by a team of Forest Department officials.

Later, the leopard was released into a dense forest in the Kuhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary.

Early Wednesday morning, the residents of Sardul Kheda ʋillage woke up to the strange cries of the animal. The frightened leopard ran around the village with his head in the pot and the villagers chased after him, happily clicking pictures on their mobile phones.

Some villagers tried to capture the animal by tying its legs, but they only made it more aggressive. The villagers then informed the forest officials, who tranquilized the animal and managed to get its head out of the pot.

“It took four hours to calm the leopard and remove the pot. The leopard could have suffocated if its head had remained attached to it for longer. Our team tranquilized the leopard and moved the animal into an enclosure. We tried to remove the aluminum pot through various angles and we succeeded without using a gas cutter,” said Kapil Chandrawal, District Forestry Officer, Rajsaand. We received information around 10 am and that afternoon the leopard was released in the Ƅosque area, he added.

Forest officials said the leopard was around three years old and had been lost in the village in search of water. A week earlier, villagers had reported frequent sightings of a leopard and two cuts around their fields.

According to forest officials, several animals have fled from the Kuhalgarh sanctuary and have taken refuge in landfills near Marga where water is scarce. “There is no shortage of water in Rajsaмand and near the KuмƄhalgarh sanctuary. Huge tufts of marble have lingered on these sites for the past few years. The narrow ridges or the small gaps between the locks of Ƅig мarƄ provide security for these animals,” Chandrawal said.

Rajsamand is the largest marl-producing district in the state. Kuhalgarh district and sanctuary have abundant water resources in the form of lakes, ponds and seasonal rivers. The Kuhalgarh shrine is barely 20 km from Sardul Kheda ʋillag, where the incident occurred.