Forest officials & wildlife sos rescue leopard from surgarcane feild in Central india.

In a daring operation, Wildlife SOS and the Maharashtra Forest Department successfully conducted a leopard rescue to avert a major human wildlife conflict situation. An adult leopard was spotted in a farmhouse bordering a sugarcane field in Shirur and the local residents were panic stricken until the rescue team managed the situation successfully by rescuing the leopard.

Earlier this week, a leopard sighting in Apati Gaon located in Shirur, left residents fearful for their safety. The big cat was spotted wandering outside a farmhouse located right next to a sugarcane field. The incident was immediately reported to the Forest Department and Junnar based NGO Wildlife SOS and requested the deployment of a rapid response unit at this location to avert a human wildlife conflict situation.

A 5 member team from Wildlife SOS accompanied by forest officers and the Police rushed to the location with safety nets, restraining equipment and a trap cage. Operations like this can be quite nerve-racking as the team has to exercise caution while approaching such a large and powerful feline. They decided to follow a more careful approach by using a food bait to lure it into a trap cage.

The rescue mission lasted several hours after which the leopard was carefully transported to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar. The facility provides a transit home for leopards in peril or caught in conflict situations and currently houses over 30 leopards who cannot be released back into the wild. The leopard has been identified as an 8 year old female, and is placed under temporary observation by Wildlife SOS veterinarians.

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder & CEO of Wildlife SOS, said “We are keeping the leopard under close observation while she recuperates from this stressful experience. The area surrounding Shirur and Junnar is right in the middle of leopard territory as the large swaths of sugarcane fields provide ideal hiding grounds for the big cat. During the sugarcane harvest season, conflict situations tend to escalate as the leopards get displaced from their sheltered homes.”

Mahendra Dhore, Wildlife SOS Veterinary Assistant said, “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. It is crucial that we spread awareness amongst the public on issues of conflict mitigation, in order to sensitize people and encourage them to be more tolerant of wild animals.”

Manohar Ramdev Mhasekar, RFO, Shirur said, “We have put up awareness boards across villages and have a team of 25 trained officers on standby to respond to such situations, some have been trained by Wildlife SOS. We work closely with the NGO to conduct various rescue operations and awareness programs.”

By nature, leopards are shy and elusive animals and their primary instinct is to avoid human contact. With unwarranted invasion of their natural habitat leading to habitat modification, leopards are continuously struggling to find a foothold in the vanishing forests. This in turn, forces them to seek prey in the form of livestock and dogs, closer to human settlements. The Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is a Schedule I species, protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ under the IUCN Red Data List.