<p><br /> Forest officials have rescued a leopard that had fallen into a well after straying into a village in India's western Gujarat state.<br /> </p><p><br /> The leopard, believed to be eight years old, was spotted struggling to stay afloat by local farmers when they came to draw water from the well.<br /> </p><p><br /> The locals alerted forest officials who rushed to the spot to carry out the rescue operation in the Veraval district.<br /> </p><p><br /> The leopard, half-submerged in water, was hoisted up from the well with ropes, and placed in a cage.<br /> </p><p><br /> The rescue operation, which lasted nearly two hours, was carried out by a team of experts to prevent any accident.<br /> </p><p><br /> Senior forest officials said the animal would be taken to the animal centre at Sasan, a nearby town.<br /> </p><p><br /> Instances of wild animals like leopards and tigers straying into residential areas are fairly common in the area, brought about by depleting forest cover and lack of natural habitat.<br /> </p>
