Pune: Elusive Leopard At Airport Still On Loose Despite Trapping Efforts

The leopard spotted at Pune Airport is making headlines for quite some time now as the leopard has yet not been caught.

An attempt to trap the leopard moving in the premises of the Pune International Airport failed even after it entered the trap cage installed by the forest department.

Deputy Conservator of Forests, Pune Division, Mahadev Mohite, giving the update on the leopard movement, said, "May 4 is observed as International Leopard Day. As of now, there was no leopard movement observed last night. We are currently repositioning camera traps at some sensitive locations identified with the help of the dog squad. The leopard has also not been directly sighted. Currently, monitoring is being conducted using 13 camera traps, 4 trap cages, and 4 live monitoring cameras. Tonight, monitoring will continue in the same manner as yesterday."

"The officials informed that the leopard is moving through the area. But it’s a no-fly zone, so we are unable to use drones for the search operation. We are focusing on advanced camera trap techniques. Efforts are on to trap the leopard safely. There are long drainage tunnels in the area. We don’t want the leopard to go into these tunnels. It can cause a risk to the leopard’s life," he added.

The leopard was first spotted on April 28, which initiated a joint operation from the forest department and the wildlife rescue NGO RESQ. The teams have been since monitoring the movement of the leopard in the premises of the air force station, which shares the runway with the civilian airport.