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After 40 hours of search, Katraj Zoo leopard captured from within facility

Mar 06, 2024 06:18 AM IST

According to the zoo officials, the male leopard named “Sachin” was captured at around 9:15pm on Tuesday as the big cat entered the cage where food was kept as a trap

The non-stop intensive search operation involving multiple teams, drones and various techniques finally bore fruits after 40 hours as the eight-year-old male leopard, who escaped from its enclosure at the rescue and rehabilitation centre of Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj, was finally captured.

Earlier in the day, the search and rescue operation continued with focus on a small territory of 130 acres of what is popularly known as Katraj Zoo. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)
Earlier in the day, the search and rescue operation continued with focus on a small territory of 130 acres of what is popularly known as Katraj Zoo. (Pratham Gokhale/HT Photo)

According to the zoo officials, the male leopard named “Sachin” was captured at around 9:15pm on Tuesday as the big cat entered the cage where food was kept as a trap. Vikas Dhakane, additional municipal commissioner, said, “The feline was captured near the Sambar enclosure,” adding that the big cat was hungry and was in search of food during evening.

Shriram Shinde, curator, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park’s Wild Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WARRC) and member of Indian Herpetology Society (IHS) said, “The leopard had not eaten anything since past 48 hours. So, as we had expected, the big cat landed inside the cage kept with food, and was captured.”

Earlier in the day, the search and rescue operation continued with focus on a small territory of 130 acres of what is popularly known as Katraj Zoo on the southern part of the city.

With the feline on loose, Katraj zoo administration decided to keep the facility closed on Tuesday.

Early in the morning, the rescue teams were elated as the leopard was spotted at around 5am in CCTV camera; first near the zoo kitchen and then at the peacock bunker while the animal was heading towards lakeside. However, after that, there was no sign of the big cat except for pugmarks near sloth bear and female leopard enclosures, raising question about the big cat’s whereabouts.

The Katraj zoo is a fenced facility with a lake located on its western part.

The big cat was brought to Pune from Hampi in Karnataka three months ago, under an animal exchange programme. The leopard was kept in a quarantine facility closer to the zoo since last three months. However, he escaped from the facility between 3am and 5am on Monday.

To capture the animal, rescue teams also placed nine cages with prey inside although the feline did not turn up at these traps during the day. Four cages from the forest department and two from the RESQ team were brought to the zoo around 1:30pm to be placed as traps given that the big cat was not trained to kill prey on his own as he was kept in captivity since birth.

According to those involved in rescue operation and zoo authorities, due to the dense vegetation inside the facility, the teams were initially unable to spot the leopard.

The forest officials also visited the spot and inspected the areas where the leopard movement was spotted.

Ashutosh Shendage, assistant conservator of forests, said, “We have provided rescue-related technical guidance to zoo officials.”

Despite repeated efforts by multiple agencies like zoo officials, fire brigade, forest department, and RESQ, the non-profit associated and tasked by forest department with rescue and rehabilitation of wild animals, the leopard could not be spotted till late in the evening till he was trapped.

“As per further plan, 20 more camera traps were set up inside the zoo premises and thermal imaging drones were launched during the night hour,” said Neha Panchamia, founder, RESQ charitable trust.

The animal was spotted around 9 pm through RESQ thermal drone was followed till it was trapped, an official said.

The big cat, according to officials, is humanised due to being in captivity and it was difficult for him to survive without cage feeding. As expected, the leopard turned up at one of the cages set by the rescue team and was trapped. All entries or exists of the zoo were blocked to prevent the leopard from going outside the zoo boundaries.

Rajkumar Jadhav, director, Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, said, “As of now, the animal does not require any medication and will be under quarantine. After a few days, the leopard will be shifted to another zoo in Odisha.”

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