12 leopards shifted to private rescue centre in Gujarat

IN A first-of-its-kind project in the state, the Gujarat forest department has transferred 12 leopards, captured from the wild after the animals came in conflict with humans, to a private rescue and rehabilitation centre in Jamnagar for their maintenance and upkeep as part of a public private partnership (PPP) project between the state government and Reliance Industries Limited (RIL).

State forest department officials said 12 leopards from Sakkar Baug Zoological Park, Junagadh, were transferred to Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Kingdom, located near RIL’s oil refinery complex in Jamnagar district, a couple of days ago. Twenty-three more leopards, they said, will be transferred to the private facility in future.

Shyamal Tikadar, the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) and Chief Wildlife Warden of Gujarat, said, “… The private rescue and rehabilitation centre will maintain these leopards but their ownership will continue to be vested in the government.”