Maharashtra: Villagers spot a napping leopard by the highway, help rescue it

Residents of Ahmednagar district's Dhotre village found an unlikely but seemingly tired traveller on a nearby highway. A six-year-old leopard was found spotted there, resting after feeding on prey.

The leopard was successfully rescued by Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department.

Concerned for their safety, villagers promptly informed the Forest Department who then called the SOS team, operating out of the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre. And then began the rescue endavour. Over 300 villagers became spectators of the hair-raising rescue, each of them trying to inch closer to get a glimpse of the action.

The rescue teams locked in on the leopard’s location and secured the area. The Wildlife SOS veterinarian then tranquillised the big cat from a safe distance. The leopard was carefully shifted into a transport car and is currently under the care of the Forest Department.

“Such rescue operations are highly sensitive and need careful planning to ensure the safety of the animal and the crowd. We were able to provide an effective and timely intervention with the help of the Forest officials,” Chandan Sawane, Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS said.

“Spotting a leopard can certainly be startling for the villagers, even if they are sharing the habitat with this majestic big cat. Over the years, Wildlife SOS along with the Maharashtra Forest Department, have conducted several awareness programmes and workshops to sensitise the locals about leopard behaviour and movement. It is rewarding to see these efforts paying off as the villagers followed the protocol and informed the concerned authorities to deal with the situation,” Wildlife SOS CEOO Kartick Satyanarayan said.