Kathmandu’s Tribhuwan International Airport is Nepal’s only international airport, and it has only a single runway.

So when a leopard was reported loose on the runway yesterday, the airport had to shut down. The airport was re-opened after half an hour, though the leopard was never found.

A pilot from a domestic airline first noticed what appeared to be a leopard on the runaway at 7.45 am and reported it to air traffic controllers at Tribhuvan international airport.

Security agencies at the airport were alerted and told to look for the animal. But their efforts yielded nothing and officials said they believed the animal may have hidden inside a drain that has both ends closed.

Kathmandu Airport, Copyright: sergemi / 123RF Stock Photo

Officials planned to re-start the search at night “when an animal’s eyes start glittering (in the dark) or go green.”

Of course this story isn’t nearly as strange as when a kangaroo walked into an airport pharmacy at Melbourne’s airport in Australia.