The Central Zoo Authority is set to take suo moto cognisance of the recent leopard escape incident that occurred at the Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park in Katraj on March 4. Expressing concern over safety and management issues, the authority will be seeking a detailed report from the wildlife warden in Pune.
The incident involved the escape of an eight-year-old leopard named Sachin from the quarantine facility, Wild Animal Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WARRC), at around 3-5 am. The captive leopard was successfully captured 48 hours later after collaborative efforts by various agencies, including zoo officials, the forest department, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), police, fire department, and RESQ NGO.
Sanjay Shukla, member secretary of the Central Zoo Authority, stated, “We will be writing a letter to the wildlife warden in Pune and asking him to submit a detailed report about the incident.” The central authority is concerned about the lack of communication from the zoo authority in adherence to the established protocol.
Rajkumar Jadhav, director of Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park, failed to inform local, state, and central authorities about the incident, raising questions about the zoo administration’s transparency.
Aditya Paranjape, wildlife warden for Pune forest division, mentioned that the Maharashtra zoo authority is also planning an investigation. A team is likely to be sent to inspect the zoo in Pune to address the issues raised by the incident.
Prabhunath Shukla, member secretary of the Maharashtra zoo authority, stated, “To avoid any such incident happening in the future, appropriate guidelines will be issued to all zoos in Maharashtra based on the investigation report.”
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has initiated its probe into the incident, instructing the garden department to submit a detailed report. The report is expected within a week, following which further actions will be decided.
