PONDA: A leopard’s hunt for water turned into a nightmare when it was chased by a pack of dogs, forcing it to climb a tall coconut tree in a residential locality in Kynan-Savoi Verem, Ponda, early Sunday morning. The fully-grown leopard, aged around two years old, was stranded on the tree all day.
According to officials, the leopard had come to the residential area to find water on the scorching day, when some dogs belonging to locals spotted it and rushed towards it, barking. Spooked by the noise, the leopard ran up to the roof of a nearby house and climbed up the coconut tree, where it was trapped for hours with the dogs barking and guarding it from below. Locals noticed it due to the dogs, and the large number of coconuts fallen around the tree. Forest officials were called, and made several attempts to rescue the leopard, but in vain.
As if being stranded on the tree was not enough, the leopard had to fend off attacks from a few eagles, who were protecting a nest with newly hatched chicks nearby, and were panicked to see the big cat on their turf. They started flying around the tree to drive the leopard away, stressing out the leopard which was hanging on for dear life.
Range Forest Officer for Ponda, Deepak Tandel said, “Since the animal is nocturnal, there are fewer chances of it getting down from the tree during the day. We can’t tranquilise the leopard and rescue it, as it may fall from that height. There is no option but to wait for the leopard to get down on its own, during night time. We will stay here for the night and urge people not to gather near the coconut tree to avoid any further panic.”
