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Journalism of Courage
WITHIN HOURS of sighting a leopard on the premises of Pune International Airport Monday night, the Forest Department said it has deployed two trap cages and seven camera traps during the night and has identified areas where the leopard is most active using a dog squad. Meanwhile, Pune airport and defence authorities said civilian and IAF flying operations were not affected.
The Forest Department team was already in the area after receiving information about a leopard sighting near the airport Sunday. As the team was installing cameras, the leopard was sighted again on the airport premises around 8 pm Monday. Officials said the location where the leopard was sighted fell inside the demarcated area of the airport.
“Two trap cages have been installed at the said location at night. Seven camera traps were installed. We have identified the areas where the leopard is most active using a dog squad. Flight services are not affected in any way. The Forest Department and the RESQ Charitable Trust teams are jointly carrying out the monitoring work,” said Assistant Conservator of Forest Mangesh Tate.
Mahadev Mohite, Deputy Conservator of Forest for Pune Division, said, “It is very likely that this leopard ventured into the airport area from nearby agricultural fields. In the absence of a major forest area nearby, this leopard most probably inhabits agricultural fields nearby.” Airport officials and defence authorities said the sighting and subsequent operation by the forest department did not affect any of their flying operations.
“The Airport and Air Force authorities have extended all help for our search operation,” a forest official said.
This is not the first time big cats have been spotted near human habitation in Pune. Leopard sightings in urban areas have become increasingly common, especially during the summer season. In February this year, a leopard that had wandered into a public park in the residential area of Nigdi was tranquilised and rescued through a coordinated multi-agency operation. Forest officials said the six-year-old male leopard had entered the residential neighbourhood from the nearby Durga Hill, where leopard sightings were reported in the past.
