Leopard sparks panic after wandering into hotel in Indonesia

A leopard was captured on Monday after it wandered into a hotel complex in one of Indonesia’s most popular holiday destinations, sparking panic among guests.

The big cat was spotted on Monday morning outside a guest room on the second floor of a hotel in Bandung, the capital of West Java, Indonesia’s most populous province.

The hotel management alerted firefighters, who then contacted the local conservation agency about the sighting.

“We used a tranquilliser, and at around 10am (the leopard was taken out of the hotel,” said Agus Arianto, head of West Java’s conservation agency.

In late August, a leopard was reported to have escaped from a zoo located just 5km (3 miles) from the hotel.

Agus said it would take time to determine whether the animal captured on Monday was the same one.

“Currently, the leopard is slowly regaining consciousness. It has started to growl,” Agus said, adding that the animal would be taken to a conservation facility for observation.