While it is not uncommon for wild animals to stray into regions with human settlement, it can frequently lead to tense scenarios if not handled appropriately. Officials in the Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra have been faced with such a challenge when a leopard was sighted in the region. The leopard in query was identified to be an adult male that had sustained injuries. In its injured state, it broke into the canteen of a college in the district. Following this, forest division officials and members of the wildlife group Wildlife SOS arrived at the web page to carry out the rescue operation.
According to a video shared on the YouTube web page of Wildlife SOS, the large cat was rescued just after a 4-hour-long rescue operation at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, situated in Takali Dhokeshwar village. In the video shared by the organization, the leopard can be seen moving inside the huge canteen of the college.
Describing the rescue operation, the post revealed that the forest division, which was assisted by the wildlife group, “secured all the entry and exit points and carefully assessed the situation.” However, the video showed that it was tough to find the leopard as it kept scrambling across the canteen. Upon confirming the place of the leopard, a hole was made in a kitchen door and a tranquillizer was administered to the leopard in order to “immobilize it”.
The leopard is “currently under medical care and observation at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar,” the post attached to the video revealed.
Watch the video right here.
The efforts of the forest division and the wildlife group have been praised by customers on the Internet. Many left comments applauding the care taken by the officials to make sure that the leopard was not hurt in any which way. Reacting to the video, one user stated, “Thank you for saving and treating this beautiful leopard. You are a blessing to this world!”
Another comment stated, “Wow, you all are amazing. So many leopards get trapped…Hope the leopard is doing okay and has no injuries.”
One user also stated that though it was certainly scary to have a leopard in one’s college canteen, the incident could also be used to educate children. “Scary for the children, but what an awesome teaching moment. I think change really starts with children. And lucky for the leopard that Wildlife SOS was there to rescue it. All of earth’s creatures are a treasure.”
In a further incident that occurred lately, a leopard was spotted on a highway close to the Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh. Images showed the animal sitting at the side of the National Highway-44, in Seoni district.