Leopard rescued from hunting foot trap in Pune's Daund

A female leopard was safely rescued from a dangerous hunting foot trap in a sugarcane field at Nangaon village in Daund taluka of Pune district in Maharashtra officials said on FridayThe rescue operation was carried out by joint efforts of the Pune Forest Department and RESQ CT TeamThis is the third instance of a leopard being found caught in a hunting foot trap in the Daund region over the past three years raising serious concerns about the continued use of such unlawful and dangerous methods an official saidThe incident was first reported at 10 am by Aniket Shinde Sarpanch of Nangaon village who immediately informed Range Forest Officer Rahul Kale and the RESQ team Forest Department staff of the Daund range and local RESQ CT team members reached the location by 1100 am followed by RESQ CTrsquos rapid response unit from Pune by 1230 pmThe adult female leopard estimated to be approximately six years old was found with her left front leg tightly caught in an iron foot trap She was visibly exhausted likely from struggling through the night The leopard was safely immobilised and extracted by 115 pm with immediate field stabilisation carried out by Dr Kalyani Thakur said the officialDr Kalyani Thakur Senior Veterinarian at RESQ CT who led the onsite medical response stated ldquoThe limb was tightly constricted with considerable trauma to the leg and detailed radiographs will be conducted to assess the severity of injuries The leopard has been admitted to the Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre Bavdhan Pune and is now under close medical observationrdquoMahadev Mohite IFS Deputy Conservator of Forests Territorial Pune Division strongly condemned the use of such devices ldquoFoot traps are not only inhumane but strictly illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 We urge local communities to report any such activities to the Forest Department so that immediate and appropriate action can be taken An official investigation into the incident is underway and we are committed to identifying individuals involved in thisrdquoEmphasising the importance of joint response Tuhin Satarkar Director ndash Wildlife Management RESQ CT said ldquoThis rescue underscores the effectiveness of collaborative wildlife response Timely communication between village leadership Forest Department personnel and our rescue teams ensured the animal received urgent attention and carerdquoAccording to the officials the people Involved in the rescue operation included Forest Department Daund Range Rahul Kale Range Forest Officer Yogita Veer Round Officer Sonal Chavan Forest Guard and from RESQ Charitable Trust Team Tuhin SatarkarAmit Todkar Nachiket Awadhani Shreyas Kamble Abhilash BansodDr Kalyani Thakur Sagar Shinde Prajwal Gaikwad and a local rescuer Govind Shelar ShirurThe leopard is undergoing detailed medical assessment at the Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre in Bavdhan Pune said an official