Officers from India's forest department on Tuesday (March 23) freed a leopard that was tangled in barbed wire placed by poachers.

Locals from Chaupra village in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh found the struggling big cat and called in the experts.

Officers first tranquillized the male leopard, placed it in a net and then carried it to a vehicle.

The animal was taken to Panna Tiger Reserve for treatment prior to being released back into the wild.

Forest officials rescued a male leopard trapped in a wire after tranquilizing it in central India's Madhya Pradesh on March 23. The incident took place in the Chaupra village, located in the Shahnagar region of the Panna district.

Visuals feature the rescue operation. The forest officials carry the leopard to safety after tranquilizing it. They use a net to capture the big cat. They free the leopard from the wire that entrapped it and carry it to medical attention in their vehicle. Meanwhile, the villagers gather around to behold the experience.

The leopard got trapped in a wire laid out by poachers. The villagers alerted the forest department, who immediately swung into action. A team headed by the Divisional Forest Officer, along with a rescue team from the Panna Tiger Reserve, rushed to the spot and rescued the leopard after tranquilizing it.

The forest officials received the information in the morning, following which a team of experts from the Panna Tiger Reserve, under the leadership of Divisional Forest Officer, Meena Mishra, rescued the leopard by the afternoon. The officials took the big cat to the Tiger Reserve for medical inspection, after which it will be released into the wild.