Leopard rescued from poachers' wire trap outside TATR

CHANDRAPUR: Even as the forest department is taking efforts to curb poaching, including notifying a buffer zone around Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) for better wildlife management, poachers trapped a leopard in wire traps at the outskirts of the reserve on Thursday. Fortunately, forest officials got information in time and rescued the beast before the poachers could kill it.

Sources said that forest officials of Moharli (territorial) forest range, which borders TATR, got a tip-off about a leopard having been trapped in wire traps. The leopard was reportedly struggling to free itself from the trap near village Adegaon.

RFO Rajiv Pawar and his subordinates immediately reached the spot in the afternoon. Senior forest officials, who were busy with the PCCF's tour of the district, were also informed. The officials rushed to the spot along with a tranquilisation expert and equipment from Chandrapur. A cage was also sent to capture the beast.

The experts tranquilised the beast and put it in the cage. A veterinary doctor examined the sedated beast and declared it fit to be freed into the jungle. The beast was taken to jungles bordering the Irai dam reservoir later in the evening and set free," sources said. However, no details about the investigations by forest officials into this poaching attempt have emerged as yet.

Forest department sources claimed that the traps were laid in the fringes of the forest at the periphery of agricultural fields in village Adegaon. The possibility of involvement of local poachers cannot be ruled out, sources added.

CF, Chandrapur forest circle, GRK Rao and DCF, Chandrapur forest division, P Kalyankumar could not be reached on the phone in the evening. RFO, Moharli range, Rajiv Pawar too was not available for comment.

However, reliable sources in the forest department confirmed the incident and said that the leopard rescued from the trap near Adegaon had no serious injury and hence it was immediately set free.

Experts in wildlife said that such wire traps are usually intended to trap herbivores like spotted deer (chitals) and sambar, but any wild animal including schedule-I animals like tigers and leopards can get caught in these traps. These wire traps are designed in such a way that, once a prey is trapped, the noose tightens further as the animal intensifies its efforts to free itself.

Usually this leads to grievous injuries to the trapped animal, which could lead to death due to bleeding, said the experts. However, fortunately, the leopard that was trapped in the wire traps on Thursday sustained no serious injury. This incident will serve to once again bring the activities of poachers close to the core area of TATR back into the spotlight.


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