Over the past month, two minors and an elderly man had been killed in leopard attacks in the Mauje Pimparkhed area, triggering widespread protests across Junnar, Shirur, Ambegaon, and Khed talukas
The leopard was estimated to be 5 to 6 years old. Representational Pic
A “man-eater” leopard that had terrorised Shirur tehsil in Pune district for over a month was shot dead by sharpshooters, forest officials confirmed on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.
The operation took place on Tuesday night after the forest team traced the elusive feline’s pugmarks near Pimparkhed village and attempted to tranquillise it.
Over the past month, two minors and an elderly man had been killed in leopard attacks in the Mauje Pimparkhed area, triggering widespread protests across Junnar, Shirur, Ambegaon, and Khed talukas, PTI reported.
Following the death of a 13-year-old boy in a recent attack near Pimparkhed on Sunday, angry locals set a forest department vehicle on fire. In response, authorities ordered the capture and eventual “elimination” of the leopard.
"The leopard was spotted 400 to 500 metres from the attack site on Tuesday night. The team of sharpshooters fired a tranquillising dart, but it was ineffective. As the leopard became aggressive and approached the team, the shooters opened fire at around 10.30 pm, resulting in the animal's death. The leopard was estimated to be 5 to 6 years old," an official from Junnar forest division said, according to PTI.
The carcass was shown to villagers and later shifted to the Manikdoh Rescue Centre for postmortem, the official said.
The official further informed that two leopards had been captured near Pimparkhed and Jambut villages, separated by nearly 8 km, on Tuesday and Wednesday.
One person was killed in a leopard attack last month in Jambut.
According to the Wildlife Institute of India, there are six to seven leopards for every 100 sq km in the Junnar forest division in Pune District.
The abundant water supply, growing human population engaged in agriculture, and the rising number of domestic animals have created a conducive environment for leopards to inhabit these farmlands.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said the state government has raised the spike in leopard attacks with the Centre and is considering sterilisation and relocation measures to control their population in Pune and nearby districts.
He had said there are around 1,300 leopards in Pune and Ahilyanagar districts.
Meanwhile, a green activist from Thane has called for adopting a science-based, humane strategy for managing human-wildlife conflict.
"Protecting human lives is essential. But the solution lies in fixing the landscape, not eliminating the wildlife," NatConnect Foundation Director BN Kumar said, seeking Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention.
(With PTI inputs)
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