Video: Leopard With Head Stuck In Plastic Container Rescued In Maharashtra

Over 30 people in Maharashtra's Thane district joined hands to rescue a leopard cub which was spotted with its head stuck inside a plastic container. The search and rescue operation took about 48 hours to complete. According to news agency PTI, the leopard cub, which is around a year old, had put its head inside the container to drink water and was unable to remove it.

The cub was spotted running around in Goregaon area of Badlapur in distress on Sunday night, a forest department official said on Tuesday. 

Local animal welfare charities had appealed for more information on the leopard after footage of the big cat running around with its head stuck in the plastic container went viral. The video was taken by tourists who spotted the leopard desperately trying to free itself while passing near Badlapur on Sunday night. 

⚠️???? #ALERT: #Leopard with its head stuck in #plastic container spotted at #Badlapur in #Thane@MahaForest & #rescue teams @raww_ngo are currently trying to locate the distressed mammal@raww_tweets@tweetsvirat @ranjeetnature @akshay_journo pic.twitter.com/vwfC8YnWXD

— RAWW (@raww_ngo) February 14, 2022

As footage of the leopard went viral on local WhatsApp groups, officials from the forest department and the state's Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), as well as representatives of the NGO Resqink Association for Wildlife Welfare (RAWW), launched a search operation to track down the animal.

The leopard cub was found near Badlapur village on Tuesday evening, where it had first been spotted, reports Indian Express.

Rescuers transquilised the leopard with a dart. When the dart hit the leopard, it shuddered with such force that the plastic container came loose, officials said.

After two days spent without food or water, the cub was in a severely dehydrated state. It was moved to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park rescue centre for treatment and will be released in the wild once it is better.