NEW DELHI: In the wake of a leopard being ‘spotted’ on a tree inside the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus recently, forest department officials said on Monday that the possibility of the animal still being present has not been ruled out. Although a cage and four camera traps have been set up on campus, officials reported that no pug marks or animal kills have been found. JNU security in-charge Naveen Yadav said, “The traps have not recorded any animal movement in the forest. However, as a precaution, the camera traps and cage will remain in place for some time.” The scare began on Friday when a student claimed to have seen a leopard on a tree behind the Kaveri hostel. Soon after, WhatsApp messages spread, attributing the sighting to a student in room number 15 of the hostel, who was later found to be visually impaired. The student clarified that the message had falsely named him, dismissing the alarm as a hoax. Despite the confusion, forest officials said they are proceeding with caution. A senior forest official who visited the campus said, “Our team members have been deployed at various locations. So far, we have only one student who claims to have seen the leopard. We are also surveying the adjoining forest area.” University officials stated that over the past three days, there have been no signs typically associated with the presence of a big cat in the area. The leopard scare at JNU continues to cause anxiety among students.
