Leopard rescued from poaching bid

DEHRADUN : Forest officials of the Mussoorie division rescued a leopard from the IT Park area near Sahastradhara on Monday after it was caught in a mesh wire trap. Officials are suspecting this to be a case of poaching and investigation is underway.

Locals informed the department after they heard the leopard’s roar. Officials began work around 9am on Monday and the leopard was tranquillised and rescued around 8:30pm.

KP Verma, subdivisional officer of Mussoorie forest division, said, “We do not think those who put the trap were particularly aiming for a leopard but rather small herbivores which are found in this range. But we have asked our sources to inform us if they find anything suspicious.”

Officials informed that the rescued leopard has been kept at the Dehradun Zoo and is being treated as it had hurt one of its ankles in the mesh. Verma added that the leopard will be released in its natural habitat in the Raipur range within a week.

The forest department is also considering putting a radio collar on the big cat before releasing it. “Now that the leopard has come in contact with the humans, we have to also consider the chances of the animal becoming aggressive and coming back to the area in search of prey,” Verma added.

In November, a leopard was rescued from the Indian Military Academy campus after it had been stuck for about four hours in the wired fence.