In a 10-hour long joint operation carried out by the Wildlife SOS and the UP forest department, an adult male leopard was rescued from Govardhan area in Mathura district. The leopard was later released in the Shivalik forest range in Saharanpur.
On Monday morning, residents of Govardhan, Mathura, spotted a leopard roaming right in the middle of the town. They immediately reported the matter to the forest department and Agra based NGO Wildlife SOS. Equipped with safety nets, a trap cage and personal protective equipment ((PPE), to carry out the rescue mission, an eight-member team from Wildlife SOS reached the location accompanied by a team of forest officers and they approached the leopard by using food bait to lure it into a trap cage.
Assistant director - Veterinary and Research, Wildlife SOS, Dr Yaduraj Khadpekar said, “We set up safety nets around the area and placed two trap cages on both ends of the culvert. Rescue operations involving leopards can be dangerous and need careful planning in order to ensure the safety of the animal as well as of the people. After a nearly ten hour long wait, the leopard finally walked into one of the cages.”
The leopard was carefully transferred to Saharanpur by the forest department and Wildlife SOS team, where it was released in the Shivalik forest range on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}The leopard was carefully transferred to Saharanpur by the forest department and Wildlife SOS team, where it was released in the Shivalik forest range on Tuesday.
{{/usCountry}}Co-founder and CEO Wildlife SOS, Kartick Satyanarayan said, “The depletion of the leopards natural prey base and habitat due to encroachment and deforestation is forcing them to seek out easily available prey such as poultry and livestock in human settlements. This often leads to human-wild animal conflicts which have violent and brutal consequences for both humans and wildlife. Wildlife SOS works closely with the dorest department to carry out various rescue operations across the state.”
Raghunath Mishra, DFO, Mathura, said, “As soon as we received information about the leopard we deployed our team of forest officers for the location. We also requested Etawah Lion safari and Wildlife SOS teams to reach the spot along with their respective trap cages for the rescue operation. We are grateful to the Wildlife SOS team for their expert assistance.”