Pune News: Leopard Captured 40 Hours After Escape in Katraj Zoological Park

Katraj, 5th March 2024: In a major development, the elusive leopard that went missing from the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj has been successfully captured by a collaborative effort involving approximately 150 individuals from PMC, the police, and the forest department. The capture took place at 9:15 pm, approximately 36 hours after the leopard first escaped. Confirming previous speculations, the leopard was discovered meandering within the confines of the zoological park.

#Pune News: #leopard #Captured 40 Hours After Escape in #KatrajZoological Park pic.twitter.com/hwawa215Go

— Punekar News (@punekarnews) March 5, 2024

The leopard, named Sachin, managed to escape its enclosure on Monday morning, manipulating the cage’s top bars. Despite an exhaustive search lasting nearly 40 hours, Sachin’s whereabouts remained unknown until the successful capture today night. The collaborative effort utilized advanced technologies, including hydraulic ladders, drones, and thermal cameras, to track down the leopard within the park premises.

Authorities had cordoned off the area suspected to contain the leopard, characterized by tall grasses and bushes reaching heights of four to five feet. Access was restricted to forest department officials, trained wildlife conservators, and zoological park experts. Traps with food enticements were strategically placed in 15 to 20 locations to enhance the search efforts.

The collaborative initiative involved the Pune, Pimpri Chinchwad, and PMRDA fire brigade teams, along with forest department officials, police officers, authorized wildlife conservators, animal museum staff, and trained guards. Additional measures, such as deploying additional CCTV cameras and using drones with thermal sensors, were implemented to aid in the capture.

Named Sachin, the seven-and-a-half-year-old leopard born in the Zoological Park is known to be friendly towards humans. Having abstained from eating since Sunday night, it was anticipated that Sachin would venture out in search of food, facilitating the successful capture.

Despite the successful capture, authorities remain committed to a thorough investigation to identify any lapses and implement corrective measures. Additional Commissioner Vikas Dhakne emphasized that necessary amendments will be made to existing rules and regulations to prevent such incidents in the future.