Pune airport leopard still elusive; shows surprising behavior, forest officials say

Pune: The leopard spotted at Pune airport on Monday — mere metres from the runway in one instance — continued to evade the traps set for it by the forest department, which also said the big cat has so far shown surprising behavior."He doesn't seem shy or disturbed by all the noise and is staying within the airport's boundary walls," said Mangesh Tate, Pune's Assistant Conservator of Forests, on Wednesday, adding that multiple camera traps and videos showed the leopard exploring the area. "We're optimistic about catching him," Tate said.On Wednesday, two more trap cages were set up inside the airport area by the forest department, taking the total number to three. As for trap cameras, nine have been installed at different points of the premises. And multiple of them have caught the leopard inspecting the cages, roaming about on the runway and exploring the passenger boarding area. Given how unfazed the big cat seemed by the sounds and sights of an airport, forest officials said they now suspect he may have grown up in the adjoining forest area. "He has also been using the airport's extensive tunnel network to move around. In fact, he has been spotted emerging from a tunnel near the take-off strip," Tate said.Forest officials said the search was on without their usual equipment, such as drones. Pune airport is also an Indian Air Force base.Neha Panchamiya, founder and president of RESQ Charitable Trust, which is assisting the forest department in the search, said they have deployed different tactics to catch the leopard."There are several challenges. We are working on a busy and fully operational airport taxi strip. We understand the critical need to capture him at the earliest," Panchamiya told TOI.Forest officials said the leopard may be surviving on rats and stray dogs.There has also been speculation the leopard may have walked from Shirur, which is now a known hotspot for the big cats. Forest officials said later generations of these leopards have been known to be very comfortable around human activity, even with lights and noise. "We are hoping he moves out from the same route he used to get into the airport. But a big cat's presence in such a place is worrisome and becomes a law and order problem," said NR Praveen, Chief Conservator of Forests, Pune.