Maharashtra: After 4 months of terror, problem leopard tranquillized & captured in Chandrapur

Chandrapur: Two days after shoot orders were issued for it, the problem leopard thought to be responsible for three human kills and mauling a three-year-old girl in Durgapur village near Chandrapur city over the last four months was tranquillized and captured during the wee hours of Friday.
According to DFO, Chandrapur forest division, Prashant Khade, the pictures taken by camera traps earlier from the area have matched with the strip pattern of the captured leopard, “confirming it’s the same animal responsible for the human kills”.
Two teams — Rapid Response Team (RRT) of Tadoba and Chandrapur forest division – led by veterinarians Dr Ravikant Khobragade and Dr Kundan Podchalwar were engaged to track down and neutralize the animal.
The leopardess was traced to a shrubby stretch near Sinala Phata on Thursday evening. Accordingly, a bait was tethered to the shrubs while the team led by Dr Kobragade waited in their RRT vehicle behind the bushes. “The leopardess approached the bait at around 3.45am on Friday. Shooter Ajay Marathe fired the tranquilizer dart from the top of the vehicle and the animal was sedated within 10 minutes,” said Dr Khobragade.
The leopardess was caged and shifted to Transit Treatment Center (TTC) at Chandrapur.
The leopardess had made the shrubby stretches of WCL plantation on the overburdens its habitat. As it started intruding homes, the forest department was forced to issue orders to shoot the beast.
He told TOI that a male leopard captured earlier on May 9 in Durgapur will remain at TTC until its fate is decided by the higher ups in the department. “Predators living in the shrubby areas of WCL and Chandrapur Super Thermal Power Station are not accustomed to life in the jungle. We have proposed to transfer the leopard to Gorewada zoo in Nagpur,” Khade said.
The leopardess too is likely to end up at Gorewada.
2 more predators likely in area
DFO Chandrapur forest division, Prashant Khade suspects that the shrubby strecthes in Durgapur from where two leopards have been captured are likely to be occupied by other predators soon. “Our teams will continue to patrol and monitor the area,” he said.
Sources claimed that there is yet another sub-adult leopard in the shrubs near Durgapur. A tiger, identified as Wagdoh male from Tadoba, too has migrated close to Durgapur mines and sighted multiple times. The only solution is to destroy the shrubby habitat sheltering the predators, feel experts.