Leopard rescued; two detained for hunting wild boar

The Ratnagiri forest department staffers rescued a 9-year-old male leopard from a well after an hour-long operation. The leopard while chasing a prey fell into the well in Ratnagiri taluka the previous night but was noticed on February 21 morning.

The leopard continued to avoid entering into the cage lowered by the officials for an hour.Meanwhile, two accused have been nabbed by the forest department for alleged hunting and disposing of a wild boar in nearby Khed taluka.

The leopard had fallen into the well of Ambere villager Nilesh Patil. The about 25-foot deep well was having about 18 feet water level but remained open. The forest department learnt about the incident from the police.

The team had to repeatedly lower and rotate the cage so that its door faces the leopard. The range forest officer (territorial), Prakash Sutar, said, “After lowering the case a net was covered on the well for the safety of our rescue team members. The big cat underwent a check-up by a veterinary doctor and later released into its natural habitat.”

In the wild boar incident, the forest department had obtained information about Borghar village residents Ajit Kadam and Aakash Pawar who had had done the hunting by laying a trap. After interrogation, the forest staffers confirmed that Kadam had laid the trap and arrested him.

Later they nabbed Pawar. The two were remanded to forest custody by a local court. The forest staffers seized the meat of wild boar and some instruments from the mango garden of Kadam, where the duo intended to dispose of the remains of the wild boar.