A male adult leopard that had been moving within the Pune Airport premises since late April 2025 was successfully darted and safely captured on Thursday following a carefully planned, multi-agency operation led by the Pune Forest Department, in collaboration with RESQ Charitable Trust, the Indian Air Force and Pune Airport Authorities.

The presence of the leopard was first confirmed on April 28. Over the following months, the wild cat utilised an extensive network of underground tunnels, dense vegetation and low-footfall zones within the airport premises to move in and out of the area. Given the vast and sensitive nature of the airport area, capture efforts posed significant operational and safety challenges.

Continuous monitoring was undertaken using camera traps, live cameras and trap

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