Pune: Officials of the Wildlife SOS and the Forest Department rescued a leopard from a 30-feet-deep well in Junnar. On Thursday, locals of Nimgaon Sawa located in Junnar taluka heard distress cries and upon further investigation; they found a small leopard huddled in the middle of a dry, open well. 
They immediately contacted the Junnar forest department, who in turn alerted the team operating out of Wildlife SOS run Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre. 

The leopard was safely extracted from the well with the help of trap cage that was lowered in the nearly 30 foot deep well. The rescued feline, a 1.5 years old female was later released into a safe habitat. 

Kartick Satyanarayan, Co-founder and CEO, Wildlife SOS, said, “Open wells are major a threat to wildlife as most often animals end up drowning or succumbing to starvation and injuries. Wildlife SOS conducts many awareness workshops to educate villagers on the threats to wildlife. On a positive note, these volunteering workshops have achieved great success. We are grateful to the villagers and forest officers for making this rescue a success.” 

Nikhil Bangar, Wildlife Veterinary Officer, Wildlife SOS, said, “Such operations require patience as our priority is to ensure that we don’t cause any further stress to the animal. The leopard was quite active, and a thorough checkup confirmed that she had no injuries and was fit for release.”
 
Yogesh Ghodake, Range Forest Officer, said, “We have worked with Wildlife SOS many times in the past, especially with leopard rescues as they are experts in the field.”