A female leopard which strayed into a residential area in Saandas, near Pune was rescued by the Pune forest department, RESQ Wildlife team, and the Lonikand police department late Saturday night.
The leopard was safely rescued by 12.45 am, said officials.
The swift response and crowd control measures by the Lonikand police department were crucial in creating a safe and controlled environment for the rescue operation.
“We used a thermal drone for better visibility and to track the animal’s movements, which was crucial in planning the rescue,” said Tuhin Satarkar, director - wildlife management and drone pilot, RESQ Charitable Trust.
The rescue operation saw the collaboration of 15 members of the RESQ Wildlife Team, Pune forest department staff led by deputy conservator of forest Mahadev Mohite, range forest officer Suresh Varak, and the Lonikand police department staff led by senior police inspector Kaingade.