Write Comment     |     E-Mail To a Friend     |     Facebook     |     Twitter     |     Print

Pune: Leopard enters Mercedes-Benz India campus, rescued

The police said the animal was rescued using a tranquiliser dart around 11.30 am. Earlier, company officials had said the employees at the campus had been evacuated to a safe spot.

In a three-hour-long operation, a leopard that had ventured on to the campus of Mercedes-Benz India in Pune district’s Chakan early Monday morning was rescued before noon by forest department personnel and wildlife rescue experts with the help of local police. The animal, who is said to be in good health, was taken to a shelter facility and will soon be released in its natural habitat.

An official statement from the company read, “We had a very special guest at the Mercedes-Benz India campus this morning. A leopard strayed into the company’s production facility and was later rescued with prompt support of the Forest Department and local police. All employees of the company have been evacuated following established safety protocols. The authorities have completed a thorough search of the entire premises and work will resume from tomorrow. We appreciate and thank the forest department and local police for their swift action leading to the animal’s safe rescue.”

Local police and officials from Junnar division of the Forest Department said they received calls about the leopard sighting at 6.30 am at the Mercedes-Benz India production facility, which is located in Kuruli. Teams from these agencies along with a team from Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre reached the campus and launched a search and rescue operation at 8 am after cordoning off a specific perimeter and taking positions at the exit routes available to the animal.

Range Forest Officer for Chakan area Yogesh Mahajan said, “After conducting a search based on information given by company officials, we spotted the leopard. After waiting for the right timing, the animal was tranquilised with the help of a dart by Dr Nikhil Bangar from Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre at 11.30 am. It is a male leopard aged around two-and-a-half to three years. Preliminary medical examination suggests that it is in very good health and has no injuries.”

He added, “There is forest cover very close to the company campus. The animal may have ventured into the campus while searching for prey.”

Speaking about the sequence of events, Inspector Arvind Pawar, in-charge of Mahalunge police station, said, “The leopard was first seen near the shop floor on the facility. After receiving calls from company authorities, we instructed them to cordon off the area and move employees to a safer distance.”

Deputy Conservator of Forest for Junnar Division Amol Satpute said, “There are laid down Standard Operation Procedures for such instances. In this case, crowd control was not an issue because the employees had already been evacuated. One of the calls was received at the 1926 number, which is the control room number for the forest department, after which the teams were mobilised.”

RFO Mahajan added, “While no leopard sighting has been reported in this area in the recent past, various other wildlife including deers have been spotted because of the presence of forest area. A regular night patrolling routine has been in place in the area for long. Local populace has been sensitised about various issues regarding man-animal conflict.”

On October 26 last year, a 45-year-old man was injured in a leopard attack in Hadapsar. The attack was reported at 6 am near a residential area, Gosavi Vasti, near the campus of vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII). Sambhaji Baban Atole (45), an employee of SII, was injured in the incident. The three-year-old male leopard was later rescued.