Tension as leopard wanders into hotel

Guests at a hotel in Bandung, West Java, Indonesia, were thrown into panic on Monday morning after a leopard strayed into the premises, sparking chaos and fear.

According to local reports, the wild cat was seen prowling outside a guest room on the second floor, prompting terrified guests to flee for safety while hotel staff alerted authorities.

Hotel management quickly alerted firefighters, who contacted the local conservation agency. According to Agus Arianto, head of West Java’s conservation agency, the animal was tranquilised and safely removed from the hotel at about 10 a.m. local time. “We used a tranquiliser, and at around 10 a.m. the leopard was taken out of the hotel,” he told AFP.

The captured Javan leopard was placed in a cage and later transferred to a conservation facility for observation. “Currently, the leopard is slowly regaining consciousness.”

“It has started to growl,” Agus said, adding that experts would determine whether it was the same leopard that reportedly escaped from a nearby zoo in late August.

Incidents involving escaped zoo animals are not new in Indonesia. In 2021, two Bengal tigers escaped from a zoo in Singkawang, West Kalimantan, after heavy rain damaged their enclosure, resulting in the death of a zookeeper and several animals.

Indonesia’s zoos have faced longstanding criticism over poor safety and animal welfare standards, with authorities urging stricter measures to prevent future occurrences.