Leopard rescued by NGO near Pune

PUNE: A three-year-old male leopard was rescued by Wildlife SOS and the Forest department recently after it was found trapped inside a chicken coop near Otur village located in Junnar in Pune district.
The leopard is currently under observation and will soon be released back into the wild, said sources in Wildlife SOS.
To prey on easily accessible poultry, a leopard made its way into a backyard chicken coop near Otur village and ended up being trapped inside the wire coop.It later had to be rescued by Wildlife SOS and the forest department.
On finding the leopard caught in this peculiar situation, the terrified locals immediately contacted the forest department who in turn alerted the Wildlife SOS team operating out of the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center in Junnar. A five-member team led by Wildlife SOS senior veterinarian, Ajay Deshmukh accompanied by a group of 12 forest officers rushed to the aid of the distressed leopard.
Rescuers said that rescue operations involving leopards can be dangerous and need careful planning in order to ensure the safety of the animal as well as of the people. Keeping necessary protocols in mind, the team first set up safety nets along the periphery of the house following which Deshmukh carefully sedated the leopard using a dart gun. The entire operation lasted almost two hours after which leopard was taken to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre for observation and veterinary examination.
Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO of Wildlife SOS said, “Otur is a leopard-prone area and leopards often wander into human settlements in search of easily available prey such as poultry and livestock. Unfortunately, this is a direct consequence of rapid human encroachment into the scrub forests and creating settlements and crop fields in the periphery of buffer areas. It is important to understand that tolerance towards these majestic felines and co-existence is the key to reducing such growing conflict issues.”