Leopard strays in Pune's Chakan town, rescued by forest officials

The leopard is currently under the NGO Wildlife SOS' observation and will be released back in the wild once deemed fit

The Chakan town of Pune - known for its agriculture produce trading hub, industries and automobile manufacturing units - had a special guest on Wednesday. A six-year-old male leopard wandered into the Chakan town - sending panic waves.

The big cat eventually took shelter in a narrow passageway in a densely populated part of the town.

Fearing for their safety, the residents immediately alerted the Maharashtra Forest Department, and the Wildlife SOS team was also informed of the situation.

In an effort to prevent a conflict situation from arising, a four-member team from the NGO rushed to assist the forest officials in the rescue operation.

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By the time the rescue team arrived, a crowd numbering almost 5,000 had gathered at the location. The local police and forest officers sprang into action to initiate crowd control while the Wildlife SOS team formulated a rescue strategy.

The leopard was stranded in a narrow passage, bordered by a brick wall making it challenging for the team to get a clear view of its location. The Wildlife SOS veterinarian proceeded with extreme caution and tranquilized the big cat from a safe distance. The leopard is currently under the NGO’s observation and will be released back in the wild once deemed fit.

Dr Chandan Sawane, Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS said: “The leopard was seemingly scared and distressed after wandering into a densely populated area, and hence took shelter in that passageway. We had to be cautious while carrying out the tranquillisation due to the limited space available, in order to prevent any untoward incidents.”

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Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS said: “A leopard wandering across town is bound to create some curiosity. As a result, people swarmed in large numbers but the local police and the forest department officers did a brilliant job of crowd control. Managing such an intense situation is crucial to carrying out wildlife rescues so as to not distress the animal further. Our team is well equipped to carry out such operations from dense human settlements such as towns, cities, villages, schools and colleges.”

Yogesh Mahajan, Range Forest Officer, Chakan said, “To remain vigilant about such possible rescue situations, our team has been carrying out regular patrolling in the Chakan range.”