A man-eater leopard rescued by the forest department and later put in Sambalpur Zoo has finally found its lady love.

The seven to eight-year-old leopard from Nuapada, nicknamed Raja, was seen cajoling its lady love, six-year-old Rani, inside the zoo on Saturday, bringing cheers to forest officials.

The forest officials captured Raja on November 5, 2023, after it reportedly killed two persons and injured one in the Nuapada district in 2022.

It was then brought from Nuapada to the Rescue Centre in Sambalpur Zoo under the Hirakud Wildlife Division on November 8, 2023. On the other hand, Rani was brought to the zoo six years back after being rescued from the forest and it was living in its cell alone until it met Raja.

Divisional forest officer of the Hirakud Wildlife Division Anshu Pragyan Das told The Telegraph: “After11 months of treatmentin quarantine of Sambalpur Zoo, on September 9, 2024, the male leopard wasreleased in the samenight house where thefemale was.

“But both were kept separately without physical contact for acquaintance and for increasing chances of pairing.”

“They were under 24x7 observation for behavioural study. Both Rani and Raja were found to be compatible with each other and were observed communicating with each other in a friendly manner for one month, even trying to reach the other. After observing their behaviour for two months, we released them in one enclosure today (Saturday) as they were found to be compatible,” she said.

“Within a few hours of release in one enclosure, Rani was seen cautiously approaching Raja, low growls and sharp snarls were heard from both partners. Even the visitors watched this sight at Sambalpur Zoo,” the officer said.

“Copulation behaviour of a female flirting with male, rubbing her tail over him and grooming him was clearly seen while the copulation process was on. The leopard male is generally expected to mate with the female for one to five days,” she added.

The forest department has installed CCTV cameras in the display enclosure for 24x7 observation and to ensure safety.