This is the moment a leopard caused havoc by running around a city in northwestern India.

The male leopard, which was successfully rescued by forest officials, was filmed just yards from residents in the built-up Kumbha Nagar area of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan on March 7.

Panicked residents called local forest officials, who came and tried to catch it by tranquilising it.

“It was a tough operation that lasted over three hours. Though we shot it with tranquilisers several times, it managed to keep running. But we managed to drop a net after cornering it,” said a forest official who was part of the rescue operation.

However, a police official deployed to manage the crowd disagreed.

He said: “The local forest officials were poorly trained to handle the situation. They had to summon an expert shooter from Udaipur nearly 125km away. That delayed the operation.”

The leopard was finally caught and shifted to Bassi Wildlife sanctuary.

Officials said the animal would be given a medical checkup and then released in a nearby forest.

Forest officials in India rescued a leopard, which ran around in a city in northwestern India.

The male leopard was spotted in the Kumbh Nagar area of Chittorgarh in Rajasthan on March 7.

Panicked residents called local forest officials who came and tried to catch by tranquilising it.

“It was a tough operation that lasted over three hours. Though we shot it with tranquilisers several times, it managed to keep running. But we managed to drop a net after cornering it,” said a forest official who was part of the rescue operation.

A police official who was deployed to manage the crowd disagreed.

He said: “The local forest officials were poorly trained to handle the situation. They had to summon an expert shooter from Udaipur nearly 125 kms away. That delayed the operation.”

The leopard was finally caught and shifted to Bassi Wildlife sanctuary. Officials said the animal would be given a medical checkup and then released in a nearby forest.