The leopard spotted inside Sharandeep Society in Ahmedabad's Ghuma area (CCTV footage enhaced using AI).Panic struck a residential neighbourhood in the Ghuma area of Ahmedabad early Monday morning after a leopard was spotted roaming inside a housing society. Following the sighting of the big cat, emergency teams from the Gujarat forest department and Kankaria Zoo rushed to the spot to launch a massive rescue and capture operation.Confirming the development, Ahmedabad Mayor Hitesh Barot said the sighting occurred at Sharandeep Society in Ghuma at the dead end of VIP Road.Speaking with The Indian Express, Barot said, “The leopard sneaked into the society late in the night. A girl from the society saw the leopard around 1 pm. After that, all the members of the society gathered. And eventually, the leopard was spotted in the CCTV of the society at around 2.45 pm.”“A team each from Kankaria Zoo and the state forest department rushed to the spot to carry out the search and rescue operation,” Barot added. “The leopard was recently sighted near House No. 20 of the society. The operation to safely trap and relocate it is currently underway and should be completed shortly.”The mayor confirmed that no injuries to residents or domestic animals have been reported so far.Ghuma is a rapidly developing residential hub of southwestern Ahmedabad adjacent to the Sanand town of Ahmedabad district which is emerging as auto and semiconductor hub of Gujarat.The sighting of the big cat comes at a time when instances of human-leopard conflict are increasing in Gujarat.Story continues below this adIn April, a man from a village in Chhota Udepur district wrestled a leopard with his bare hands, forcing open its jaws, and rescuing his four-year-old daughter from death.In January, a four-year-old girl was attacked by a leopard near her house in Dang district’s Daher village, and she died during treatment at the Valsad Civil Hospital later.In February, The Indian Express covered the issue of leopards on the prowl in detail, talking to several experts. They attributed the rise in human-leopard conflict to a shrinking prey base due to urbanisation and deforestation. As the number of leopard attacks grows, more big cats are being captured and placed in rescue centres, increasing demand for such facilities in Gujarat.The leopard population in Gujarat rose from 1,395 in 2016 to 2,274 in the census last held in 2023.