Leopard

The TrickyScribe with inputs from WTI: A sub-adult male leopard was rescued in Bokakhat, a town in Assam’s Golaghat district, from a conflict situation in a joint operation conducted meticulously under the supervision of Divisional Forest Officer, Eastern Assam Wildlife Division (EAWLD), Rohini Ballave Saikia, on Wednesday. No casualties, neither human nor animal, were reported.

A sub-adult male leopard being rescued in Bokakhat; credit: WTI

The Mobile Veterinary Service (MVS) team from Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC) team chemically immobilized the leopard expeditiously. The rescued leopard was then transported to CWRC, where it regained consciousness and was placed under observation. The EAWLD sources indicate that the animal will be back to the wild soon.

The leopard was spotted inside a garage in the residential staff quarters of Swahid Kamala Miri Civil Hospital. Civil authorities under the Bokakhat Sub-divisional Officer and Sub-divisional Police Officer handled the assembled crowd, keeping the core operational area clear and preventing any untoward incident.

A sub-adult male leopard rescued in Bokakhat; credit: WTI

The rescue team included personnel from the EAWLD and MVS-CWRC, IFAW-WTI and the Assam Forest Department’s wildlife rescue, treatment and rehabilitation facility near Kaziranga National Park. “This was a quick and successful rescue operation. The situation was resolved without human or animal casualties,” said DFO Rohini Ballave Saikia.

“This was a quick and successful rescue operation,” said Saikia. “I would like to thank the Bokakhat civil administration and the police department for their tremendous support in crowd management. We rarely witness such circumstances wherein a wild animal is spotted into the heart of a town and there is no conflict. Here, the situation was resolved without human or animal casualties.”

“We had to proceed with the utmost caution since the leopard was behind a bamboo barrier in the garage”, said MVS veterinarian Dr Samshul Ali, who darted the animal. “It was difficult to find a spot to dart it from without disturbing it.” Dr Ali was supported in the operation by another CWRC veterinarian Dr Panjit Basumatary, Forest Veterinary Officer of Kaziranga National Park, Dr Debabrata Phukan and CWRC animal keepers Tarun Gogoi and Mahadeo Das.

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