Leopard Enters Bandung Hotel, Officers Need 3 Hours to Subdue

Mornings in Bandung City are usually marked by the hustle and bustle of residents starting their activities. However, Monday morning in the Padasaluyu Street area, Sukasari District, was far from ordinary. A stray leopard entered the Anugerah Hotel.

News of this uninvited guest spread quickly. Several residents managed to record from a distance, capturing glimpses of the agile striped figure moving on the hotel's second floor. 

Amidst the panic, a joint team from the police, firefighters, and the West Java Natural Resources Conservation Center (BBKSDA) swiftly moved to the location.

Sukasari Police Chief Commissioner Ni Wayan Mirasni recounted the evacuation process.

"The evacuation took three hours from the time the report was received at 07:00 WIB. The difficulty arose because it was positioned on the second floor, making the evacuation quite complex," said Ni Wayan in Bandung, West Java, on Monday.

The joint team had to work carefully. One wrong move could provoke aggression from the wild animal. 

A strategy was devised involving tranquilization from a safe distance. Nets were set up to restrict the leopard's movement. Finally, the tranquilizer dart found its mark.

"The leopard was tranquilized to keep it calm and non-aggressive during the evacuation process," stated Ni Wayan.

With extreme caution, the leopard was placed into an iron cage, then brought down to the lower floor and evacuated out of the hotel. 

The lengthy process concluded without any casualties, either among the officers or the surrounding residents.

However, questions arose: Where did this leopard come from? Was it a wild inhabitant of the forests around Bandung, or an escapee from a conservation facility? 

Responding to this, Ni Wayan revealed that her team could not yet confirm.

"It's not yet known, still in the evaluation or observation stage by the BBKSDA and Lembang Park and Zoo," she said.

For the time being, the animal was taken to Lembang Park Zoo to undergo health observation before being handed over to the Cikananga Wildlife Breeding Center (PPSC) in Sukabumi Regency.

This incident serves as a reminder of how thin the boundary is between the living spaces of wild animals and humans. 

Amidst the city's dense development, the story of a leopard lost in a hotel is not merely a unique occurrence, but a signal that nature is seeking to restore its balance. (Antara)