Leopard’s head gets stuck in vessel, rescued after 5 hours

The leopard was exhausted by the constant effort to free himself and was rescued successfully with a timely intervention by the forest officials and veterinary experts

In a remarkable rescue operation carried out by the forest department, Dhule district on Saturday, officials saved a male leopard whose head was trapped in a metal vessel for almost five hours. The leopard was exhausted by the constant effort to free himself and was rescued successfully with a timely intervention by the forest officials and veterinary experts.

Forest officials during the rescue operation in Dhule on Saturday. (SOURCED)

The incident occurred in Dhukshewad village, Sakri tehsil of Dhule. In search of food and water, the leopard entered a cowshed on resident Krushna Chaure’s farm in the early morning. When the wild animal was trying to drink water in the metal pot, the leopard got his head stuck in the pot. The incident came to light at around 2 am and drew the attention of many residents.

Kamalakar Sabale, the village’s sarpanch, notified the forest department, and a team was dispatched to the scene immediately.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Navin Kumar Singh, deputy conservator of forest, Dhule and range forest officer Savita Sonawane, a veterinary officer from the department, police officials, and honorary wildlife warden of the Dhule district were involved in this rescue operation.

The leopard was fatigued from repeatedly attempting to free his head from the metal pot and needed an oxygen supply. To rescue the wild animal, the veterinary officer tranquillised the leopard with sufficient doses. At the same time, forest officials, assisted by a police team, were regulating the mob that had formed around the spot.

After an initial tranquilliser, the leopard was transported to the department’s office, where the subsequent rescue operation was carried out meticulously. The leopard was eventually freed, although he was kept under observation by the forest department for a few hours.

Savita Sonawane, range forest officer, at Dhule Forest Department, said, “The rescue operation was carried out successfully. After confirming the health condition of the leopard, he was released in the wild by the forest department.’’

While the timely intervention helped save the leopard’s life in this case, the incident also highlighted the increasing human-wildlife conflict in Maharashtra.

There are several incidents reported about human–wildlife conflict in the state, especially leopard presence close to human settlements. Such incidents are expected to rise further in the upcoming days, as there are chances of more animals roaming outside the forest areas in search of food and water leading to an increase in human–wildlife conflict in Maharashtra.