After seeing viral video, rescue team, 50 forest department officials and volunteers scanned the entire area on foot to locate the animal
The leopard was finally spotted on Tuesday evening and was tranquilised by the SGNP rescue team
In an unfortunate incident, a leopard was spotted with its head stuck inside a plastic container near Badlapur in the Thane district. Over 50 forest department officers, including the leopard rescue team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), were stationed in the area for the rescue. The animal was spotted and tranquilised after 28 hours.
On Sunday, a family from Vangani had visited a resort near Goregaon, between Vangani and Badlapur. On their way home, a girl from the family spotted the leopard with a plastic container stuck surrounding its neck. Soon after the video of the leopard taken by the girl went viral on local WhatsApp groups, the forest department started their search operations.
The video of the leopard taken by a girl went viral on local WhatsApp groups, after which the forest department was informed
Deputy Conservator of Forest (DCF) Gajendra Hire from Thane Forest Department (Territorial) said, "Immediately after we got to know about the incident our staff rushed to the spot and the search operation to locate the distressed animal was started on Monday afternoon .The Leopard rescue team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), our team along with the local forest team and volunteers have been searching the Leopard since Monday afternoon and the operation is in progress. We had installed more than 15 camera traps in the forested patch in and around the area where the Leopard was spotted. The leopard was finally spotted on Tuesday evening and it was successfully tranquilised by SGNP Leopard rescue team. The animal has been taken to SGNP Leopard rescue centre where medical examination will be carried out after which further decision will be taken."
Honorary Wildlife Warden (HWW) of Thane District, Avinash Harad said, "The irresponsible behaviour of tourists, entering the forest illegally for partying, is posing a serious threat to wildlife. We as citizens need to behave responsibly and not litter when visiting areas close to forests. The hotels and the resorts in the area need to adopt proper waste management methods so that such instances are avoided. Forest department team along with local tribals took all the best possible efforts because of which the leopard was safely rescued."
