A rogue leopard in western India was trapped inside a chicken coop and shot with a tranquiliser dart, before being rescued and released into the forest.

Video of the recovery shows the leopard leap into a flock of chickens, which scatter in different directions, but the leopard retreats back to its spot without attacking any of the terrified birds.

The dramatic incident occurred at a village in Junnar district near Pune, Maharashtra state on December 18.

The villagers of Otur spotted the leopard, a young three-year-old male, near a house next to a sugarcane field.

As soon as the leopard entered the chicken coop, the alert residents closed the door, locking it inside.

Realising that it was struck inside, and also due to the commotion outside, the leopard got too stressed and showed no interest in making a meal out of the birds.

The villagers then called forest officials, who came with a Wildlife SOS team, to rescue the animal in a two-hour operation.

The rescue team tranquilised the leopard and took it away to Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre (MLRC) in Junnar. It was later released in a forest after it recovered from its experience.

An approx. three old male leopard was rescued by Wildlife SOS & the Forest Dept. after it was found trapped inside a chicken coop near Otur village located in Junnar district, Maharashtra. The leopard is was under observation & was released back into the wild on Thursday.

In an attempt to prey on easily accessible poultry, a leopard made its way into a backyard chicken coop near Otur village on Tuesday morning. Ironically, the big cat ended up trapped inside the wire coop and had to rescued by Wildlife SOS & the Forest Department!

On finding the leopard caught in this rather 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, Dr. Ajay Deshmukh accompanied by a group of 12 forest officers rushed to the aid of the distressed leopard.

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 Dr. Ajay 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 & 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.”

Dr. Ajay Deshmukh, Senior Veterinarian at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre said, “The leopard is a male, a little over 3-years-old. We are keeping him under close observation while he recuperates from this stressful experience. This is the second leopard rescue to be carried by our team this month.”

B.C. Yele, Range Forest Officer - Otur said, “On receiving information about the leopard we immediately alerted the Wildlife SOS team and mobilised our own staff as well. It will will be released back into the wild once deemed fit by the Wildlife SOS veterinary team. ”