Panaji, Apr 1 : A leopard was sighted at Indian Navy's air base INS Hansa,40 kilometres away from here, on March 31 morning, the second such sighting in the last four
weeks.The Indian Navy spokesman claimed that the leopard was driven away by armed sentries.
This is second such incident at INS Hansa, which is home to several flying squadrons attached to the Indian Navy.
The spokesman said that the leopard was fully grown, while the one seen four weeks ago was a cub.
“At about 0345 hours, an armed sentry positioned at the aircraft parking area in INS Hansa was alerted due to suspicious movements near the technical area,” he said.
The alert sentry took swift evasive action, thwarting any attempt by the leopard to attack the duty staff.
The wild cat managed to disappear into the wooded darkness behind INS Hansa, he said.
Wild cats have been sighted at the naval air station on several occasions in the past especially near Bimvel beach.
Navy envisages that presence of leopards in the area could pose a grave danger to civilian residing in and around Dabolim, he said.
Efforts are being intensified with co-operation of forest officials to ensure that big wild cats are trapped and successfully relocated to avoid any harm to the local
population, the spokesman said.
