Leopard Who Escaped From Quarantine Facility Near Pune Zoo Caught

A male leopard escaped from a quarantine centre located near a zoo in Pune and was captured after about 40 hours following a multi-team operation involving more than 100 personnel and use of thermal drone cameras, an official said.

The big cat, aged seven-and-a-half years, is suspected to have escaped from the quarantine facility in the early hours of Monday by bending a bar of the cage.

It entered one of the cages set up to trap it at around 9.15 pm on Tuesday, the Pune civic body official said.

"Officials found the leopard missing from the quarantine centre situated near the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park at around 9 am on Monday, following which an extensive search operation involving over 100 personnel from the zoo, quarantine centre, forest department and fire department. Multiple thermal drone cameras were deployed to trace the wild animal," he said.

The leopard, born at a zoo in Karnataka, was recently brought to the zoological park in Katraj area of Pune, he said.

"At around 9.15 pm on Tuesday, the spotted animal walked into a trap cage baited with a chicken. The leopard had food on Sunday night. It entered the cage in search of food and was captured. The feline is in good health," the official said.

During the search operation, the zoo remained closed for the public.