Living with leopards in Mysuru   Premium

It is not that leopards have suddenly made their way into Mysuru — they have long been a part of the region’s landscape. But with unchecked urbanization and the city’s horizontal sprawl steadily encroaching upon their natural habitats, encounters between leopards and residents have become increasingly common. This is drawing attention to the ‘presence’ of the spotted big cats but which, in fact, have always been around.

For a city recognised as a tourist destination for all seasons, Mysuru is also the gateway to famed tiger reserves and elephant sanctuaries like Bandipur and Nagarahole — both of which are just a short drive away.

While the city is no stranger to wildlife, which is part of the region’s identity, Mysuru was in the spotlight in recent times due to high frequency of leopard sightings in its industrial and residential localities.

It is not that leopards have suddenly made their way into Mysuru — they have long been a part of the region’s landscape. But with unchecked urbanisation and the city’s horizontal sprawl steadily encroaching upon their natural habitats, encounters between leopards and residents have become increasingly common. This is drawing attention to the ‘presence’ of the spotted big cats but which, in fact, have always been around.

In recent months, two high-profile industrial installations in Mysuru suffered a ‘’security breach’’. A leopard sauntered into the 350-acre campus of Infosys forcing the company employees to work from home.

The Forest Department scoured the campus for almost a month, deployed its staff on a 24x7 basis to monitor the site, installed camera traps and checked for fresh pugmarks but only to draw a blank after which the search operation was disbanded.

Within weeks, another leopard slipped into the woods surrounding the Reserve Bank of India’ currency note printing unit. However, the leopard was not as lucky as its counterpart at Infosys, and after a few weeks of persistent effort, the forest department managed to outwit the big spotted cat and capture it much to the relief of the employees.

Leopard sighting and their capture from the industrial areas in and around Mysuru are not new, and multiple incidents – of leopard capture – have been reported from the BEML campus alone. In November 2022, a leopard sneaked into Brindavan Gardens, a popular tourist destination, and forced the authorities to close the gardens for public for a prolonged period.