Labourers at a factory in Pune in western India were tormented by a mystery animal for weeks that would come out at night and ransack their quarters possibly looking for food.

It would vanish if they woke up and put on the lights. A few glimpses of the animal revealed that it was furry, dark and had sharp claws.

On February 23 evening, a worker saw it entering a safe room inside the go-down and locked the door from outside. Getting a call from the factory owner, rescuer Saidas Kusal went with his team to catch the animal, which turned out to be a civet cat.

They placed a metal cage inside the safe room and gave the animal a few hours to move into it on its own. But when they returned later in the night, the cat was still outside.

It took some effort to catch it as the agitated animal ran around dodging them. Saidas finally caught it by its tail and caged it. It was released in a nearby forest later.

Saidas said: “Civet cats are remarkably agile and can deliver a nasty bite if cornered. We took all the precautions to ensure no one got hurt.”

Labourers at a factory in Pune in western India were tormented by a mystery animal for weeks. It would come out at night and ransack their quarters possibly looking for food.

It would vanish if they woke up and put on the lights. A few glimpses of the animal revealed that it was furry, dark and had sharp claws.

on February 23 evening, a worker saw it entering a safe room inside the godown and locked the door from outside. Getting a call from the factory owner, rescuer Saidas Kusal went with his team to catch the animal, which turned out to be a civet cat.

They placed a metal cage inside the safe room and gave the animal a few hours to move into it on its own. But when they returned later in the night, the cat was still outside. It took some effort to catch it as the agitated animal ran around dodging them. Saidas finally caught it by its tail and caged it. It was released in a nearby forest later.

Saidas said: “Civet cats are remarkably agile and can deliver a nasty bite if cornered. We took all the precautions to ensure no one got hurt.”