This story is from June 13, 2021

Leopard spotted at villages near Hinjewadi in Pune

A fully grown leopard was sighted by villagers at Nerhe-Duttawadi and Kasarsai, about eight km away from Hinjewadi on the outskirts of Pune, causing panic among villagers on Saturday evening.
Leopard spotted at villages near Hinjewadi in Pune
The leopards so far have killed goats, stray dogs and hens in villages in Mulshi and Maval tehsils, but there is not a single attack on human, said Kapse. (Image is used for representational purpose only)
PUNE: A fully grown leopard was sighted by villagers at Nerhe-Duttawadi and Kasarsai, about eight km away from Hinjewadi on the outskirts of Pune, causing panic among villagers on Saturday evening. The villagers first spotted the animal sitting near sugarcane field in Kasarsai village, forest officials said.
Paud forest range officer Popat Kapse told TOI, "We came to know about the animal's presence after the villagers made a video and circulated it on social media platforms.
Our staff and patrol team immediately visited the area and confirmed the presence of the animal through the pug marks."
The forest officials are not ruling out the possibility of the presence of a fully grown male and a female leopard and their two cubs in the area.
"We had found two cubs in the sugarcane fields near Marunji village a few months ago. We had to release them in the same area to reunite with their mother. The presence of one leopard family is often seen in our forest areas," Kapse added.
"The leopards so far have killed goats, stray dogs and hens in villages in Mulshi and Maval tehsils, but there is not a single attack on human," said Kapse, who along with other officials held meeting with villagers to hear their concerns on Sunday.
He said, "A habitat of leopard is there in our range and hence we have told the villagers to take necessary precaution such as keeping domestic animals in proper cattle sheds, not to roam alone during night near forest, burst firecrackers to shoo them away and visiti farms in groups for work in night. These measures would prevent the animal from entering villages and hamlets."

On leopards wandering, Kapse said, "Since they (animals) get adequate food and prey in forest and nearby villages, they haven't so far travelled to the urban areas like Hinjewadi IT park which is located eight km away from the current sight."
On placing of cages, Kapse said, "We will take decision on this after having a discussion with the villagers in next few days. We need to complete mandatory procedure before setting up trap cages in the area. We haven't placed cage anywhere in these villages," he confirmed.
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