Suspected man-eating leopard shot dead after 3 deaths in human-animal conflict

A Forest Department official said three deaths occurred due to leopard attacks in the Pimparkhed village and Jambut areas of Shirur taluka within the past 20 days. Shivanya Shailesh Bombe, 5, was killed by the big cat on October 12, Bhagubai Ranganath Jadhav, 70, died on October 22, and Rohan Vilas Bombe, 13, also lost his life on November 2.

In a protest against the increasing leopard attacks in Junnar, Shirur, Ambegaon, and Khed talukas, villagers staged agitations blocking the Belhe–Jejuri Road on October 12 and 22, and the Pune Nashik Highway at Manchar on November 3 for nearly 18 hours. An angry mob also set on fire to a Forest Department patrol vehicle and the local base camp building, resulting in significant damage.

“To capture or eliminate the man-eating leopard from the Pimparkhed area, Pune Forest Conservator Ashish Thakre obtained immediate permission from the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to capture or shoot dead the man-eater animal,” the Forest Department said in a press statement.

“Special teams from the Forest Department, including that from ResQ Charitable Trust Pune, comprising veterinarian Dr Satwik Pathak and sharpshooters Jubin Postwala and D Prasad Dabholkar, were deployed in the area to capture the leopard. Camera traps were set up at various locations to track the leopard’s movement, and its pug marks were monitored,” it said.

On Tuesday night, the team located the suspected man-eating leopard around 500 metres from the site of the latest incident in Pimparkhed using three thermal drones.

“An attempt was made to tranquillise it with a dart, but the effort failed, and the leopard turned aggressive and charged at the team. Around 10.30 pm, one of the armed sharpshooters fired a shot, killing the male leopard. The animal is estimated to be around 5 to 6 years old. Afterwards, the dead body of the leopard was shown to the residents of Pimparkhed village and then taken to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre for postmortem examination,” it added.

The Forest Department said the operation was successfully carried out under the guidance of Ashish Thakre, Forest Conservator, Pune Division, with the assistance of Prashant Khade, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Junnar, Smita Rajhans and Amrut Shinde, Assistant Conservators of Forests, Junnar, Nilkanth Gawhane, Range Forest Officer, Shirur, and members of the ResQ Charitable Trust with support from local villagers.