Pune: Two leopards rescued over the weekend

A 4-year-old male leopard trapped inside a 20-foot-deep well

Over the weekend, two leopards were rescued in Junnar near Pune by the Forest Department along with the help of NGO Wildlife SOS in two separate incidents. A one-year-old, critically injured male leopard was rescued from Sangamner in Ahmednagar. The young feline needed immediate medical intervention and had to be rushed to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center for treatment. In another incident, an approximately 4-year-old male leopard was rescued from drowning in a 20-foot-deep well in Fakte village located in Shirur range in Junnar.

On Saturday afternoon, the Wildlife SOS team operating out of the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center in Junnar received an urgent call from DFO Sangamner, Mr Gaikar about an injured leopard that was spotted in the area.

Wounded and struggling to move, the leopard had collapsed on the side of the road. A four-member team from Wildlife SOS along with a team of forest officers arrived at the location to carry out a preliminary examination and on-site treatment.

Wildlife SOS senior veterinarian, Dr. Ajay Deshmukh who has ample amount of experience in handling such situations confirmed that the young feline's forelimbs were paralyzed, and it had also sustained severe wounds on the neck region. While the cause of injury is yet to be determined it is suspected that it might be an attack by another leopard. As it requires long term treatment and care, the leopard has been transferred to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre.

Dr Deshkmukh confirmed the leopard's forelimbs were paralyzed and had sustained wounds on the neck

Dr. Ajay Deshmukh, Senior Veterinarian at the Wildlife SOS Leopard Rescue Centre in Manikdoh said, "A detailed X-ray examination is yet to be carried out, which will enable us to determine the extent of the injury. We will have to carry out a similar physiotherapy treatment which had been adopted to treat the paralyzed leopard cub, who was rehabilitated earlier this year. The cub was able to fully recover and return to the wild and we hope that this young leopard too, is able to walk again."

Following quickly on the heels of this rescue, a team from the Forest Department and Wildlife SOS rushed to the aid of an adult leopard that was at the risk of drowning in a nearly 20-foot-deep well in Fakte village located in Shirur Taluka. The leopard had reportedly fallen into the well on Sunday morning.

A trap cage was lowered into the well to safely and successfully extricate the leopard

A wooden plank was lowered into the well to provide temporary support to the terror-struck cat, who clambered on instantly in order to stay afloat. After a quick assessment of the situation, the Wildlife SOS team and forest officers lowered a trap cage into the well to safely extricate the leopard, thus successfully rescuing it from an extremely dangerous, near-death situation. A routine veterinary check-up carried out by Dr. Ajay Deshmukh confirmed that the feline was a male, approx. 4 years old. The distressed leopard was transferred to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre for treatment and observation.

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder & CEO Wildlife SOS said, "I am glad that our team was able to assist the Forest Department with timely intervention and saving the leopard's life. Both animals are under immense stress and need time to recover. Our dedicated team of veterinarians is carrying out the necessary treatment and closely monitoring their condition."

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