MARCEL, SEPT 3
A female leopard was rescued after being trapped in a wire supposedly laid to catch a wild boar at Shirshire-Borim on Friday morning.
The incident came to light when one of the villagers noticed the animal frantically trying to release itself from the trap. The villagers then alerted the Bondla wildlife sanctuary and a team was rushed to the site.
It was a difficult task for officials from the Bondla wildlife sanctuary and North Goa Forest department, as they struggled for nearly two hours in a bid to rescue the leopard.
They first fired four tranquilizer shots, but it yielded no results. Two tranquilizer shots missed their target while two others could not sedate the wild cat.
Later, the officials decided to manually inject the tranquilizer and it was successfully carried out with the help of a net used as a protective shield.
Villagers claim that they have witnessed leopard movements in the area since the last two years.
The incident spread like wildfire as a large number of people flocked to the site to catch a glimpse of the leopard and the rescue operations.
Forest officials had a tough time in cordoning off the area, as curious onlookers tried to come as close to the wild animal as possible.
According to officials involved in the rescue operation, a large number of people could have provoked the leopard.
“We even warned onlookers that they could run the risk of being attacked by the leopard, but this did not deter them,” an official told Herald.
According to Deputy Conservator of Forest, North Goa, G T Kumar the rescued leopard was safe and had no injuries.
“The animal is safe and has no injuries. We are thankful to the people for cooperating with us. It was trapped in the wire and we managed to free the animal without hurting it. Luckily, the wire also did not damaged its skin,” said Kumar.
“The leopard will be kept under observation for the next 48 hours before it is released into the wild,” he said.
