Maharashtra’s forest department is looking into claims of illegal leopard transport from Gujarat after villagers intercepted a suspicious boat.
Pune: So, here’s the scoop. The Maharashtra forest department is diving into some serious allegations from folks in Manibeli, a tribal village in Nandurbar. They say there was an illegal leopard transport from Gujarat. It all kicked off when villagers spotted a boat on the Narmada river carrying a caged leopard, which was supposedly meant for release in their area.
This whole thing blew up when some fishermen and locals stopped the boat earlier this week. They noticed there were about 7-8 officials from the Gujarat forest department on board. A video of the scene went viral, and that got the Maharashtra forest department moving.
Laxman Patil, the deputy conservator of forests in Nandurbar, mentioned they’ve started looking into the leopard’s transport. They reached out to their counterparts in Gujarat, who admitted the leopard was indeed from there and was meant for a rescue center. But it seems their rescue team was just hanging out near the Maharashtra border, waiting for nightfall to release it.
Patil wasn’t too impressed with the explanation from Gujarat. He said they’re putting together a detailed report for the higher-ups. Meanwhile, there’s a meeting set for February 1 in Saputara village. Officials from various districts, including Nandurbar and Gujarat, will discuss the alleged illegal wildlife transport.
Now, there’s also some drama about a Maharashtra government-owned boat being used for this leopard transport. Sagar Nikhumbhe, an honorary wildlife warden, pointed out that the boat was supposed to be used for the Sardar Sarovar Project but was misused for this leopard situation.
Villagers are pretty upset, claiming this kind of illegal wildlife transport happens all the time. They think the Maharashtra forest officials are ignoring it, which is making the leopard-human conflict worse. Since May 2024, there have been eight human deaths due to leopard attacks in Nandurbar, plus a lot of cattle getting killed.
To tackle this, the Maharashtra forest department plans to step up their game along the Gujarat border, including more night patrols near the riverbank to prevent any more illegal wildlife transport.
