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Leopard spotted in Agra’s residential locality, rescued
The Wildlife SOS and the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department rescued a full-grown leopard on Tuesday which was seen roaming on the streets in Etmauddaula area in trans- Yamuna locality of Agra on the same day in the morning
The Wildlife SOS and the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department rescued a full-grown leopard on Tuesday which was seen roaming on the streets in Etmauddaula area in trans- Yamuna locality of Agra on the same day in the morning.
Residents of Sita Nagar in Etmauddaula area (located 5 km from the Taj Mahal) spotted a leopard roaming in the neighbourhood and intimated the forest department.
CCTV cameras installed on the street captured the big cat running out of a house and wandering frantically across the narrow, crowded streets. The leopard eventually made its way into a small fruit storage room and the locals managed to lock the animal inside.
The incident was immediately reported to the forest department and Agra based NGO Wildlife SOS. Equipping themselves with safety nets, a trap cage and protective gear to carry out the rescue mission, a nine-member team from Wildlife SOS immediately rushed to the location accompanied by a team of forest officers.
By the time the team reached the spot, over 200 people had gathered outside the storeroom. The rescue team drilled a hole in the wall of the store house to tranquilize the leopard without opening the gate. They inserted a camera through the hole to locate the leopard.
The forest officers and police personnel implemented crowd control measures while Wildlife SOS veterinarian Dr S Ilayaraja immobilised the leopard using a sedative injection through the hole. The leopard was carefully transferred to a transit facility for temporary observation.
Akhilesh Pandey, divisional forest officer, Agra said, “This is a densely populated area, so the leopard sighting caused a wave of panic among the residents. After deploying our team to assess the situation, we contacted Wildlife SOS for their assistance in the rescue operation. We were able to provide effective and timely intervention with their help. ”
Dr Ilayaraja, deputy director of veterinary services at Wildlife SOS said “The leopard is a male, between 7 to 8 years old. Such rescue operations are highly sensitive and need careful planning in order to ensure the safety of the animal as well as of the people. With a huge crowd of over two hundred people gathered around, the rescue was extremely challenging.”
“The depletion of natural prey base and habitat due to encroachment and deforestation is forcing wild animals like leopards to seek easily available prey such as poultry and livestock in human settlements. This often leads to human-leopard conflict which can have violent and brutal consequences for both humans and wildlife. We are grateful to the forest department and the police for making this rescue a success,” said Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder and CEO Wildlife SOS.
Last year, Wildlife SOS assisted the forest department in the safe rescue and release of an adult leopard that was wandering across Govardhan city in Mathura.
