Leopard strays into residential area near Pune; rescued after five hours

Pune: A leopard strayed into a residential area in Maharashtra’s Pune district in the early hours of Thursday and was rescued after about five hours, a police official said.

Locals spotted the adult leopard at Chikhli in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area around 4.50 am.

After being alerted, forest officials, police, fire brigade and members of RESQ Charitable Trust launched an operation to tranquilise the big cat.

To avoid crowding around the animal, as it could have left the feline stressed, locals were requested to stay indoors, he said.

Senior inspector Dnyaneshwar Karkar of Chikhli police station told PTI the wild animal first entered the Sonawane Vasti area in Chikhali.

“Efforts were made to capture the leopard at a godown, but the feline gave the rescuers the slip. It was then isolated on a farm. Eventually, the leopard was tranquilised with a dart and successfully rescued around 10 am,” said Katkar.

No one was injured in the rescue operation, and the animal was also unhurt, he said.

Nachiket Upadhyay of RESQ Charitable Trust said the animal was safely darted and rescued with the collective efforts from all agencies.

Officials said the leopard’s health will be assessed before it is released into the wild.