A young leopard trapped in a clutch wire near the FRIMA golf course in the forest area of the Forest Research Institute adjoining the Indian Military Academy was tranquilised and was later released in the jungle on Sunday.
While Forest Department officials are stating that an inquiry will be conducted to ascertain the facts behind the big cat getting trapped, animal rights activists have demanded that a case be lodged against the officer concerned of the IMA for setting of the clutch wire near the golf course shared by the academy and institute.
The Dehradun sub divisional officer Gulvir Singh said that the department was informed about a leopard being trapped near the golf course at 7 am on Sunday after which a team from the department and Dr Parag Nigam from the Wildlife Institute of India reached the site.The big cat was tranquilised, rescued and then released in the jungles of Badkot range in the afternoon after being administered first aid in an operation that lasted about four hours.
The leopardess aged about four years and weighing about 64 kg had sustained only minor injury and was said to be fit for release by the vets. Regarding whether the big cat was trapped in a clutch wire, Singh said that the department will inquire into this on the orders of the divisional forest officer.
On the other hand, People For Animals, Uttarakhand member secretary Gauri Maulekhi said that she was informed by golfers in the morning about the trapped leopard and she then called up the Dehradun DFO.“As the department was planning to rescue the leopard on its own without a qualified vet, I telephoned the National Tiger Conservation Authority member secretary Dr Rajesh Gopal who got the WII involved in the operation.
The leopard got trapped in the clutch wire on Saturday night and we are demanding that the officer concerned of the IMA be booked under Section 9 of the Wildlife Protection Act for the clutch wire being placed that ensnared a Schedule I wild animal,” she said. It is pertinent to mention here that at least one leopard was found trapped in a clutch wire snare at the IMA in the past. leopards are not a rare sight in the IMA and FRI campuses along with neighbouring localities on the outskirts of Dehradun.