Leopard at Pune Airport Feasting on Dogs, Say Forest Officials

Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Viman Nagar, 6th May 2025: A leopard sighted near the runway of Pune Airport on April 28 has kept forest officials and wildlife experts on high alert for over a week, evading capture despite round-the-clock surveillance. The presence of the big cat has been confirmed through camera trap footage, but its movements remain unpredictable.

The Pune Airport, which shares its runway with the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Lohgaon, has not reported any disruption in flight operations. However, the leopard’s presence within the high-security premises has raised concerns about both public safety and wildlife management.

Since the initial sighting, teams from the Maharashtra Forest Department and RESQ Charitable Trust have been stationed at the site. Live surveillance cameras and trap cages have been deployed across strategic points of the vast premises in an attempt to track and safely capture the animal.

“Leopard presence has been confirmed in one of the camera traps. Based on this, locations of camera traps are being reshifted and reshuffled to improve monitoring efficiency,” said Mahadev Mohite, Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF), Pune Division, on Tuesday morning. “Monitoring continues with trap cages and live cameras active on site. Further updates will follow after detailed review and planning,” he added.

Despite the intensive efforts, the leopard has so far evaded capture. Forest officials believe that the large area of the Air Force campus, coupled with available food sources, has allowed the animal to remain hidden. “The Air Force campus is huge. It seems the leopard is getting food, hence it has remained elusive,” said Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Mangesh Tate. “We recently discovered the carcass of a dog, which may have been its prey. After the leopard was seen in one of the cameras last night, we are changing our strategies,” he added.

For now, the leopard remains on the loose, a ghostly figure moving through the shadows of one of Pune’s busiest and most secure locations.