A six-year-old female leopard was rescued from a hunting foot trap in a sugarcane field in Nangaon village, Daund taluka, in a joint operation by the Pune Forest Department and RESQ Charitable Trust. Officials said this could be the third instance of a leopard being found caught in a hunting foot trap in the region over the past three years.
The incident was reported at 10am on Friday by Aniket Shinde, sarpanch, Nangaon village, who alerted range forest officer Rahul Kale and the RESQ team. Forest department staff of Daund range and RESQ members reached the location by 11am.
The adult female leopard was found with her left forelimb caught in an iron foot trap. She was visibly exhausted, likely from struggling through the night. The animal was immobilised and extracted by 1:15pm, with immediate field stabilisation carried out by Dr Kalyani Thakur, senior veterinarian at RESQ CT.
Dr Thakur said, “The limb was tightly constricted, with considerable trauma to the leg and detailed radiographs will be conducted to assess the severity of injuries. The leopard has been admitted to the Wildlife Transit Treatment Centre, Bavdhan, Pune, and is under medical observation.”
Mahadev Mohite, deputy conservator of forests (territorial), Pune Division, condemned the use of such devices. “Foot traps are not only inhumane, but strictly illegal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. We urge local communities to report any such activities to the forest department. An official investigation into the incident is underway.”
{{/usCountry}}Mahadev Mohite, deputy conservator of forests (territorial), Pune Division, condemned the use of such devices. “Foot traps are not only inhumane, but strictly illegal under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. We urge local communities to report any such activities to the forest department. An official investigation into the incident is underway.”
{{/usCountry}}In December 2024, a leopard was discovered caught in a foot trap, but managed to break free and escape before forest officials could rescue it.
Vishal Chavan, assistant conservator of forests, Pune forest division, said, “A preliminary offence report (PoR) was registered, and an inquiry was conducted with 10 suspected individuals. Such foot traps are often set by locals to protect their crops from wild boars, but this practice is illegal.”