A leopard which was sighted Monday morning on a construction site in a village, located 10 kilometres from Pune city, was rescued by authorities after a nearly three-hour rescue operation.
An official said after their efforts to guide the leopard into the forest cover near the New Ahire village failed, the animal was tranquillised using a dart. The leopard is being moved to a transit
facility in Pune, where it will undergo a medical examination, the official added.
The search operation was launched by the Forest Department with the help of the local police to look for a leopard.
Police and Forest Department officials said they had received a call from the residents of New Ahire that a leopard was sighted in a tin shed on a construction site in the village at around 6 am. The site where the leopard was spotted is located around five kilometres from the National Defence Academy (NDA).
Senior Inspector DS Hake, in charge of the Warje police station, said earlier, “After receiving information, a police team was deployed around the site for crowd control while the Forest Department officials were contacted. The teams of Forest Department personnel and wildlife rescue experts have launched a search operation. The site, where the animal was seen, is close to the NDA campus limits.”
In the past, NDA authorities have issued alerts for its staff and their family members following multiple sightings of leopards around its campus.
The Khadakwasla area, where NDA is located, and the surrounding villages are situated in the foothills of the Sahyadri ranges of the Western Ghats. These areas are known habitats of leopards, forest officials said.
