MARGAO: A panther ventured into a residential area of Layamati in Davorlim spreading panic and anxiety. The panther was rescued after a three and half hour mission by the Forest officials.
A panther was spotted by Rajesh Kharangate near his house on Friday afternoon. Panicked by the sudden visit of the unwanted guest he called the Forest Department who sent a wildlife rescue squad there.
Deputy Conservator of Forests Anil Shetgaonkar said, “We got information of a panther having been spotted in Davorlim between 1.30 to 2 pm. We quickly formed the rescue team and called rescue teams from Bondla and Campal and got cages too. The team tranquilised the panther and then put him in the cage. We have transferred the panther to a protected environment. It is a male panther and the age will be verified soon.”
Anand Sawant, a local, was the witness to the scene right from the beginning. He said, “The rescue squad has to be fast and the rescue has to be quick. The mission took three and a half hours to successfully finish which is too long.”
“The tranquilizer guns and the apparatus for rescue of wild animals have to be kept locally so that it can be reached soon during emergencies like the one which happened today,” he added. However, the panic and news spread so fast that over a thousand people came to see the panther and were seen getting dangerously close to the wild animal which made things difficult for even the police and forest officials.
