184 leopards rescued in Maharashtra’s Junnar division in 5 years, mostly from open wells

Maharashtra’s forest department and the Wildlife SOS non-profit organisation have collaborated to spread awareness and cover open wells

3 min readPuneUpdated: Feb 26, 2025 02:19 PM IST

leopards rescue, junnar Maharashtra, indian express

Covering one of the wells in Nimgaon Sawa has had a positive impact, significantly reducing the number of leopard incidents involving falls into wells over the past year. (Express Photo)

Maharashtra’s forest department has rescued 184 leopards in the Junnar division in the past five years, with most being saved from open wells. Increased awareness sessions and efforts to cover these wells have contributed to a decline in such incidents over time.

From 54 in 2020-2021, the number of leopards rescued from open wells has declined to 37 in 2023-24 and 27 in 2024-25. “A total of 184 leopards have been rescued. A majority of them had fallen inside open wells and a few had been injured in road accidents,” Smita Rajhans, Assistant Conservator of Forests, Junnar Forest Division, told The Indian Express.

Mahendra Dhore, Manager, Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre, Wildlife SOS, a non-profit organisation collaborating with the forest department for the crucial conservation project, said several awareness campaigns have been conducted in high-risk areas, educating local people, including schoolchildren, in the past two years.

“With the dual approach of covering open wells and conducting awareness sessions on a mass scale, there has been a drop in the number of incidents of leopards falling inside open wells,” he added.

Working on its Open Wells Conservation Project, Wildlife SOS recently covered five open wells in Junnar to prevent leopards and other wild animals from falling into them and fatally injuring themselves. As part of the project, the team conducted a field study, speaking with well owners to identify locations where falls frequently occur.

The observations revealed that leopards fall into wells while hunting. Most of the leopards were found to have fallen while chasing domestic animals such as dogs, cats, goats and cows. In these areas, domestic animals are left outside, and leopards come near the houses for hunting in the evening. In the process of chasing prey, some leopards end up falling into the well.

“In various schools, we educate students about wild animals through outreach programmes and advise the residents to not let their pets roam outside at night but to keep them in enclosed spaces,” Dhore said.

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Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS, said the most important information gathered while working on this project was that if farmers keep their domestic animals enclosed at night, a huge number of incidents of leopards falling into wells can be reduced.

An official statement said the forest department and Wildlife SOS, under the guidance of the Junnar forest division, covered five new wells in the Hivare Narayangaon, Warulwadi, Nimgaon Sawa, Pimpari Pendhar and Ane areas.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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