Thane: Man who trapped leopard, boars, secures bail within 24 hours of arrest

The wildlife activist who first informed the Maharashtra forest department about the incident said the ease with which the accused obtained the bail will encourage poachers

A man who was arrested on Friday by the Maharashtra state forest department after being found in possession of an injured leopard and two wild boars, both protected species, has secured bail within 24 hours of his arrest, causing discontentment among wildlife activists.

The leopard injured itself while trying to struggle out of the cage, though officials said it is not critically hurt. (Representative Image)

Danny Gonsalves, a resident of Uttan, was produced before a Thane court, and had been held at the forest department’s range office at Teen Hath Naka in Thane the previous night.

He has been booked under sections 9 (illegal hunting), 39 (illegally acquiring wildlife species), and 48 (illegal possession, transport, or sale of protected wildlife species) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, in addition to others.

The free-ranging, adult female leopard was captured on Friday morning in a cage-trap set by Gonsalves at his farmhouse at Palkhadi. He claimed that it had been preying on the local livestock.

The animal injured itself while trying to struggle out of the cage, though officials said it is not critically hurt.

The animal is suspected to have traveled around a year ago to the beachside locale around the Uttan-Gorai-Manori belt from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), which is around 12kms away as the crow flies. By road, the distance is around 25kms.

“The ease with which bail was obtained will encourage poachers and that is a huge threat to wildlife. It is also a sad commentary on the prosecutor of the forest department who couldn’t secure custody in such an open and shut case,” said Stalin D, city-based environmentalist who heard of the leopard’s capture on Friday morning and was the first to inform the forest department.

Rakesh Bhoir, range forest officer, Mumbai, said, “The leopard is being treated for a wound on its head, and the wild boars are also in our custody at our rescue centre in SNGP. We will continue to pursue legal action against the accused. We will also step up monitoring for leopards in the Uttan area, which is densely wooded and could be supporting a larger population of leopards.”