Pune: Leopard That Entered Shirur Villages Captured, Sent to Manikdoh Rescue Centre
Shirur, 22nd August 2026: Forest officials have successfully trapped a leopard that had been entering human settlements in the eastern part of Shirur taluka and have shifted it to the Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre in Junnar for further care.
The big cat was captured late Thursday evening in a cage set near agricultural land belonging to Srinivas Ghade on the Inamgaon border. It had been moving through villages including Pimpalsuti, Inamgaon, Mandavgan Farata, Shirasgaon Kata and Anjurajupura.
The operation followed a fatal attack on June 22 in which a young girl, Vaishnavi, was killed by a leopard in Pimpalsuti. Earlier incidents of human-leopard conflict in the area had prompted residents to stage road blockades demanding action.
Forest teams launched an intensive search about a month ago, deploying around 15 cage traps, 50 camera traps and drones. Officers, rescue personnel and a veterinary team monitored the leopard’s movement routes. For the past six days, a doctor from the rescue team remained on continuous watch near the cages.
In recent days, six leopards have been trapped in the Pimpalsuti and Anjurajupura areas and handed over to the Shirur forest division.
The drive was led by Deputy Conservator of Forests Prashant Khade, Assistant Deputy Conservator Smita Rajhans, Range Forest Officer Nilkanth Gavhave and a large team of forest staff, veterinary doctors and volunteers. The captured animal has been sent to the Manikdoh centre in Junnar for treatment and rehabilitation.
