In a nerve-wracking three hour long operation, a four-year old male leopard that had broken into a house in Parner, Maharashtra was safely rescued by Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department.

In a rather unexpected incident, a family residing in Pimpalgaon Rotha village played host to a peculiar guest in their house over the weekend.

After spending a few hours under medical observation, the young leopard was released back into the wild.

As it turned out, a large leopard had followed their pet dog into their house and stumbled upon the family in the middle of dinner.

The Wildlife SOS team at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre was immediately alerted and were able to tranquillise the leopard.

Once the animal was immobilised, it was carefully transferred to Ahmed Nagar Nursery, for a preliminary health examination.

Family shocked as Leopard encroached his house in Central india.

In a nerve-wracking three hour long operation, a four-year old male leopard that had broken into a house in Parner, Maharashtra was safely rescued by Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department. After spending a few hours under medical observation, the young leopard was released back into the wild.

In a rather unexpected incident, a family residing in Pimpalgaon Rotha village played host to a peculiar guest in their house over the weekend. As it turned out, a large leopard had followed their pet dog into their house and stumbled upon the family in the middle of dinner.

Luckily, the family raised an alarm before any mishaps occurred, and they were all able to safely run out of the house while locking the leopard indoors. On recovering from the initial shock of having a live wild cat in their living room, the family called the forest department, who immediately alerted the Wildlife SOS team at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre.

A team of three Wildlife SOS rescuers and a group of forest officers arrived at the village, to find a crowd of curious on-lookers gathered around the house. With help from the villagers, the rescuers first put up safety nets along the periphery of the house. A bedroom window was pulled open so the team could lock down the animal’s location and carefully assess the situation. Wildlife SOS senior veterinarian Dr. Ajay Deskhmukh then used a tranquilizing gun to sedate the leopard, who was found sitting atop a cupboard!

Once the animal was immobilized, it was carefully transferred to Ahmed Nagar Nursery, for a preliminary health examination. The leopard was a male, estimated to be about four years old, and has since been released back into the wild.

Dr Ajay Deshmukh, Senior Veterinarian at Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre said, “With a huge crowd of nearly 700 people gathered around, the rescue was extremely challenging as their presence triggered fear and distress in the leopard. When carrying out such sensitive rescue operations, it is imperative that all necessary protocols are followed to minimise the chances of any untoward incidents. Such cases are quite common in this region hence we conduct many awareness programs to educate people about dealing with various conflict situations.”