The leopard was released back into the wild after a medical examination. (Representational image) Personnel from the Forest Department and Wildlife SOS rescued a young female leopard from a 50-feet-deep open well after a four-hour long operation in Otur village under Junnar tehsil of Pune district on Sunday.
The leopard was released back into the wild after a medical examination.
The open wells in Maharashtra have become death traps for wildlife, especially leopards. A few weeks ago, a leopard was rescued from a well in Narayanwadi. Another leopard was rescued in Belsari village a few days ago.
On Wednesday, personnel from the Otur Range Forest Division requested the Wildlife SOS team at the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Center for reinforcement, after which a four-member rescue team from the NGO led by veterinary officer Dr Nikhil Bangar arrived at the location.
The leopard was perched on a narrow cavity inside the well, and was seemingly petrified of the commotion caused by the large crowd that had gathered at the site. After implementing crowd-control measures, the rescuers carefully lowered a trap cage into the well to safely extricate the leopard. The leopard was then taken to a nearby forest nursery, where it was examined for any injuries.
Kartick Satyanarayan, the CEO Wildlife SOS, said, “Once an animal falls into these wells they can suffer an inhuman fate, dying from starvation, drowning or injuries. We can no longer ignore the danger that open wells pose to wildlife, specifically leopards that are a species protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972.”
Range Forest Officer Caidhev Madhukar Kakde said: “The farmer who spotted the leopard contacted us out of concern for the animal and we immediately contacted Wildlife SOS for reinforcement. Otur village is a leopard-prone area and has a few open wells.”
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