Leopard breaks into a chicken coop, rescued by wildlife SOS!

NP NEWS 24 ONLINE- 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 currently under observation & will soon be released back into the wild.

 In an attempt to prey on easily accessible poultry,a leopard made its way into a backyard chicken coop near Oturvillage 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 netsalong the periphery of the house following which Dr. AjayDeshmukh carefully sedatedthe leopard usinga dart gun.The entire operation lasted almost two hours after which leopard was takento 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 leopardsoften 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 whilehe 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– Otursaid, “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.”

Since the establishmentof the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centerin 2008, Wildlife SOS has dedicated their efforts towards the efficient management and mitigation of the Man-Leopard conflict in the region and to raise awareness across villages and residential areas which are prone to leopard sightings.