Leopard caught in jaw trap rescued in Ahmednagar

Pune: Officials of the Wildlife SOS and Ahmednagar Forest Department rescued a three-year-old male leopard, who was found trapped in a deadly jaw trap set up by poachers in Jeur Haibati village, in Ahmednagar district.

As per information by Wildlife SOS, the leopard’s left forelimb was caught in the lethal hunting device (trap). The injured leopard is currently under medical care at a transit facility.

On Thursday, the Wildlife SOS team based out of the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre, Junnar, received a call from the Maharashtra Forest Department about a helpless leopard caught in a deadly jaw trap in Juer Haibati village, Ahmednagar. Recognising the extremity of the situation, a four-member team from the NGO rushed to the location with safety nets, restraining equipment and a trap cage in hand.
 
The leopard’s left forelimb was caught in the steel-jaw trap and in its attempt to break free, the leopard started running amok in the neighbouring field. Wildlife SOS senior veterinarian Dr Ajay Deshmukh carefully immobilised the big cat using a sedative injection. After administering the drug, they carefully removed the lethal jaw trap from the entrapped forelimb.

The rescue mission lasted several hours after which the leopard was carefully transported to the Forest Department base for observation.
 
Dr Ajay Deshmukh said, “We had to first tranquillise the leopard to carefully remove the jaw trap. Any further delay would have caused severe damage to the forelimb. We disinfected the wound and have administered topical treatment along with analgesics and anti-inflammatory medication. Fortunately, the injury is superficial, and no internal injuries have been detected.”

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS, said, “The leopard was in a state of distress and was confused and frightened by all the noise and screaming. We are glad the teams from Wildlife SOS and Forest Department were able to carry out this rescue operation successfully. Jaw-traps are lethal hunting devices, which can cause severe lacerations, joint dislocations, fractures and even death in most cases.”

Speaking about the rescue operation, BV Shinde, Range Forest Officer of Ahmednagar, said, “The Forest Department and Wildlife SOS have in the past collectively rescued wild animals from conflicts situations, arising in the State. There is an urgent need to educate the public about the illegality of such offences in order to curb poaching. The Forest Department will be investigating this matter closely.”