Leopard at Pune Airport Continues to Evade Capture

May 3 is celebrated as International Leopard Day. It is a day to raise awareness about leopards and their protection and conservation. It is fitting that the spotted cat gets its own day, given that it is an “apex predator that plays a vital role in maintaining the functioning and diversity of ecosystems”. With growing urbanisation, the depletion of forests, their distribution range and population are shrinking. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. They can be found in 63 countries, but their habitat is a fraction of what it used to be.

This shrinkage is evident in the recent Pune incident. Pune airport is very much located in the city’s premises. You exit the airport and while weaving through traffic are surrounded by malls and housing complexes. Over the last three days, the airport has been in the news for an unusual reason; a leopard has been spotted in its premises. And despite valiant efforts by various teams, it has evaded capture.

Camera traps have spotted it on the boundary wall of the Lohegaon airport. The male leopard seems to be a master of subterfuge as it is believed to be using the airport’s tunnel system to get around. Officials have said that its brazen attitude—it seems scared of neither lights nor sounds—hints at the fact that it has probably grown up in and around the airport precincts.

A leopard at an airport makes for a curious story because here is a creature of the wild caught in a particularly urbane and mechanical area. While forest officials and other Pune-based organisations such as RESQ are trying to humanely capture the animal at a fully functioning airport, this is not the first time that leopards and humans have come in close contact in the recent future.

In Mumbai too, leopard sightings are a frequent occurrence. In Maharashtra’s capital, the leopards are usually found around the Sanjay Gandhi national park, which is home to nearly 100,000 people and supposedly nearly 20 leopards. In January this year, a leopard was spotted at the Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai campus. While leopards usually attack dogs or livestock, with increasing encroachment on human habitats, leopard attacks on humans have also increased. These felines stray into human habitation because they are often forced out of theirs. Usually nocturnal hunters, leopards have forced many residents in peri-urban and rural areas to remain locked indoors at night.

While the stories of leopard attacks make news, the big cats are also known to coexist with human settlements. Organisations like RESQ work to bolster community support to protect animals in different ecosystems. The leopard holding out at the Pune airport might soon be caught by rescuers and relocated to a denser jungle. On the eve of International Leopard Day, it is a good time to celebrate these charismatic big cats and to find workable ways to coexist with them.

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