Gurgaon: Leopard was rescued in best possible way, say experts

The leopard which taken to the forest department office in Gurgaon for medical examination.

The Wildlife Institute India (WII) experts on Friday said that the method used by the wildlife department to capture the leopard, which was inside the premises of Maruti Suzuki plant, was the best way to rescue the animal.

Wildlife department captured the leopard, which was inside the premises of Maruti plant for 36 hours.

Wildlife officials said the eight-year-old male leopard, rescued safely after an enclosure of 36 hours, is healthy and has no signs of depression.

The leopard which taken to the forest department office in Gurgaon for medical examination.

“The leopard gained consciousness at 5:55 pm and was healthy. It weighs 70 kg and will be released in the Aravalli forest by tonight depending on its condition,” conservator of wildlife, Vinod Kumar, said.

Meanwhile on Friday, more cages were installed in the 6-acre area of Engine Plant at Maruti Suzuki plant, Manesar.

To capture the animal, four cages with two goats as bait and raw meat were kept in the unit to capture the leopard. “The method used by the wildlife team was the best way to rescue a leopard trapped in an enclosed area. Live bait and more cages to trap the leopard was the only way which could have been used by any agency to safely rescue the animal,” Bilal Habib, WII, Wildlife project head, said.

To rescue the leopard, a 14-member wildlife team was on toes for the 36 hours, along with more than 100 police men at the site. “The entire area was cordoned off to restrict the movement of human beings. Leopards are shy animals and generally do not move if they are not confident about the environment,” R Anand, divisional forest officer, Gurgaon, said.

A day after it was spotted inside the premises of Maruti Suzuki’s manufacturing plant in Manesar, bringing production to a halt. The big cat, which was caught on a CCTV camera several times, in the past 36 hours at the site, had ventured into the plant from Aravalli hills as the plant is located on the foothills of Aravallis.