Leopard stuck on 15-foot-high banyan tree rescued by Maharashtra villagers

A leopard out on hunting on Wednesday morning found itself in a fix as it got stuck on a banyan tree in a jumble of wires in Maharashtra.

The incident took place near Gulunchwadi village which is located in Pune district’s Otur Forest Range. Alert villagers who saw the animal in peril immediately alerted the Maharashtra Forest Department who in turn got in touch with Wildlife SOS team which operates out of Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar. The Forest Department received the call at 4 a.m. and the rescue team reached by 6 a.m.

The team equipped with the necessary gear reached the spot to assist the Forest Department officials in the rescue operation. They observed the situation and found that a cable wire was tightly wrapped around the animal’s body.

The three-hour-long operation saw the NGO’s veterinarian carefully tranquilising the feline from a safe distance. After this they brought down the leopard from a 15-foot height and transferred it to a transport cage.

Talking about the leopard, Dr. Chandan Sawane, Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS said: “The leopard is a female, estimated to be 9-10 years old. The cable wire was tightly wrapped around her abdomen which we removed very gently and the animal has been transported to our centre for further observation and treatment.”

Sharing details about the operation, Vaibhav Kakade, Range Forest Officer, Otur Forest Range informed: “The leopard was out hunting when it accidentally got entrapped in a cable wire. The scared leopard then jumped onto a tree but the wire wound up entangled in the branches, tightening its grip around the animal’s abdomen.”