Pune: Seven gruelling hours and a minutely coordinated multi-agency effort led to the tranquilisation and safe capture of the adult male leopard at the city airport in the early hours of Friday. The operation was successfully carried out almost eight months after the animal was first spotted near the runway here. Forest officials said the leopard, weighing around 70kg, is being treated at the forest department’s animal rescue and rehabilitation facility in Bavdhan, and will be released into its natural habitat soon. The operation on Friday was executed by a team of around 30, led by the forest department, and involving representatives of RESQ Charitable Trust, Pune airport, and Indian Air Force (IAF). The Pune airport is part of the IAF’s fighter air base in Lohegaon. Given the sensitive nature of this key defence installation and restricted areas for movement, capturing the leopard posed a major challenge. The animal had been utilising an extensive network of underground tunnels, dense vegetation, and low-footfall zones to move in and out of the campus, officials said. Its presence and sightings at regular intervals posed danger to airport and airline staff working on the airside, they added. The presence of the leopard was first confirmed on April 28, 2025, when it was seen near the runway area twice. It was seen again in Aug, and then Nov this year. Continuous monitoring was undertaken, using camera traps, live cameras, and trap cages, although the leopard consistently avoided entering cages, a forest department official told TOI. Bagging the big cat Range forest officer Vishal Chavan, who was part of the team on Friday, told TOI that a vast subterranean network of tunnels had become home for the leopard since many months. “The big cat created an entire ecosystem of its own in the five interlinked tunnels right underneath the runway. It probably lived on rodents, and also went outside to hunt dogs, etc. On Dec 4, the animal was spotted again entering this underground network. This is when we increased vigilance at the airport,” said Chavan. He elaborated, “We set up a tube cage in one of the tunnels; trap cameras were set up in two others. In the remaining two tunnels, live trap cameras were installed. The aim was to push the leopard towards the cage.” Chavan added, “It took almost seven gruelling hours, from 9pm on Thursday to 4am on Friday, for the rescue team to complete its task. We started creating a disturbance in one of the tunnels using firecrackers and loud music, following which the leopard moved. As it did so, we blocked the tunnels through which it was passing with plywood. This way, we managed to curtail its movements and finally pushed it to the tunnel where we wanted it to go. As the leopard entered the said tunnel, we were finally able to block all paths and then managed to hit it with a tranquilizer dart.” IndiGo crisis timing spurred capture The IndiGo crisis over the last fortnight led to the cancellation of several flights, severely impacting aircraft movements and chaos on the airside. As the runways became quieter, the elusive leopard was once again sighted in trap cameras last week, after disappearing from sight for many days. Deputy conservator of forests Mahadev Mohite had told TOI that officials observed the movement of the animal to be more casual this time — it was not as alert as it used to be. Speaking to TOI just after the sighting, Mohite had said, “We have a good chance of catching it this time.”A day before the operation, assistant conservator of forests Mangesh Tate told TOI that they were able to identify the animal’s movements. “We know its pattern now and are closely following it. We have grasped its territorial behaviour,” he had said. On Friday, Pune airport director Santosh Dhoke said, “The leopard was here but never hampered any commercial flights. It used to remain in the IAF area and has been captured from there. Our operations always remained normal. It is good that the animal has been captured though.” A senior IAF officer, choosing to stay unnamed, told TOI, “The joint operation was smoothly executed by all agencies. The effort was commendable, and this is a first for the Air Force Station.” How the operation unfolded – A 30-member team comprising personnel from the forest department, RESQ-CT, and IAF gave shape to the operation – The team executed a coordinated drive to guide the leopard into an approximately 80ft tunnel, where a controlled chemical immobilisation could be attempted – After tranquilisation, the animal was safely retrieved from the tunnel and transferred for veterinary observation – The leopard has since recovered well and is currently housed at the transit treatment centre in Bavdhan for further observation and assessment – Authorities confirmed that no human injuries occurred during the operation and that airport operations continued without disruption Voices from the capture team This operation reflected strong inter-agency coordination and preparedness. The forest department, RESQ-CT, IAF, and airport authorities worked seamlessly over several months for its success — Mahadev Mohite | Deputy conservator of forests, Pune division Every wildlife capture situation is unique, and responses must be guided by strategy, timing, and context rather than urgency alone. This operation shows that wise, measured decision-making, supported by data, technology, and teamwork, leads to outcomes that prioritise both human safety and wildlife welfare — Neha Panchamiya | Founder-president, RESQ Charitable Trust The operation demanded precision, patience, and constant reassessment on the ground. The leopard damaged both live cameras, and I had to take a clean shot from a very difficult angle in a confined tunnel space. The successful darting was possible only because the teams held their positions calmly and executed the plan exactly as designed — Dr Gourav Mangla | Wildlife veterinarian, RESQ-CT
