Maharashtra: Leopard enters farmer’s house in Ahmednagar, creates panic

MUMBAI: A leopard entered a farmer's house while chasing a dog in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar on Saturday evening.
Farmer Dilip Jagtap’s grabbed his mother by her arm, scooped up his two little girls, rushed out of the house with dog in tow and latched the main door.

"I was the first to spot the leopard inside the house," said Jagtap who lives in Pimpalgaon Rota village of Parner taluka.
Soon, the family alerted their neighbours. And in no time, word spread around the village. By then, someone had also informed the forest department.

Forest officials alerted a team from Wildlife SOS. A three-member team from Wildlife SOS reached the village to catch the big cat.
With the help of villagers, safety nets were put up along the periphery of the house. A bedroom window was pulled open so the team could lock down the animal’s location and assess the situation.

A senior veterinarian with Wildlife SOS, Dr Ajay Deskhmukh, used a tranquilizing gun to sedate the leopard which was found sitting on a loft in the house. The big cat was caught and caged after a three-hour operation.
Once the leopard was immobilised, it was transferred to forest department’s animal nursery in Ahmednagar where a preliminary health examination was done. The male leopard is estimated to be about four-year-old. It was later released back into the forest.
Dr Deshmukh said that the rescue operation was "extremely challenging" with a crowd of about 700 people gathered around the house. "Their presence triggered fear and stress in the leopard. When carrying out such sensitive rescue operations, it is necessary to minimise the chances of any untoward incidents."
The presence of the leopard has sparked fear among people in the village and around, said Bhagwan Bhambare a local. "Our village is currently hosting Khandoba and every year we have huge crowds flocking for the village festival but after the leopard was spotted, the crowds have just vanished," he said.