Wayward leopard rescued from bottom of well

Aug. 15 (UPI) -- A leopard took a fall down a well in an Indian village and rescuers were able to hoist the big cat to safety using a harness.

Puthen Purakkal Haneefa's family said they discovered the leopard in a well on their Pozhuthana, Wayanad, property early Monday and a crowd of hundreds of onlookers gathered as they waited for police, firefighters and forest service rescuers to arrive.

The responders said the leopard was not tranquilized before they snared the leopard in a harness and hoisted it to a waiting cage. The rescue operation lasted for about three hours.

The 7-year-old big cat was found to be soggy but in good health by a forest service veterinarian and was released back into the forest, more than two miles away.

Locals speculated the leopard had arrived in the village by swimming across a nearby river.