Mangaluru(PTI): A one-year-old leopard, which fell into a well at Niddodin near here, was rescued and later released into the wild, Forest Department officials said.

The officials initially tried luring the animal inside a cage on Sunday by lowering it down the well and were unsuccessful, a release said.

A rescue team led by wild life specialist Dr Yashasvi Naravi with Dr Meghana, Dr Prithvi and Dr Nafisa then decided to immobilise the leopard and bring it up from the well which was too deep and had a small cave inside where the animal was hiding.

Dr Meghana sat inside the cage with darts and gun. The cage was slowly put inside the well with ropes tied to it with the help of locals and forest department officials. The leopard was darted and after sedation, it was pulled inside the cage and was lifted up.

The leopard was released back to the wild later in the day, the release said.