Lakhimpur Kheri:, June 9 -- A five-month-long operation to capture an elusive leopard in the Dudhwa buffer zone ended early on Tuesday when forest officials successfully trapped the animal in a cage near a sugarcane field in Bhidauri village under Singahi police limits of the North Nighasan forest range.

The leopard had been under surveillance since January 10, when it allegedly killed 35-year-old Usha Devi while she was working in a field. Forest officials said pugmarks and camera-trap images confirmed that the captured animal was the same leopard involved in the attack.

Dudhwa buffer zone deputy director Kirti Choudhary said teams had been monitoring the leopard's movements through drone surveillance, camera traps and pugmark tracking...