Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, 14 March  2020: On this bright sunny morning at Wildlife Trust of India’a Mobile Veterinary Service Station, Eastern Assam, Dr. Khanin Changmai received a call for the rescue of a leopard at a Tea Estate in Kaliapani. A trained wildlife vet, Khanin and his animal keeper Raju loaded necessary rescue equipment comprising a cage, transportation crate, portable weighing machine, tranquilizer gun and darts, stretcher on to their MVS vehicle and immediately set off for the tea estate.

With Raju at the wheel, the distance of 50 km was covered in about two hours that morning. Khanin was aware that the leopard had hidden in a narrow culvert in the tea estate and there was a crowd mostly of tea estate workers surrounding it, trying to get a glimpse and from his past experience at handling such situations, he was prepared for an agitated leopard.

Reaching the site around noon the WTI rescue team realized that tranquilizing the young leopard was the only way for a clean rescue inside the narrow crawl space where it lay hidden from the crowd. With both the ends of the culvert drain blocked earlier by the restless crowd to prevent the leopard from escaping, working with flashlights Khanin managed to aim and hit just the right spot with his tranquilizer gun successfully tranquilizing it.

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Once sedated, the leopard was gently brought out in the open and examined for injuries by Khanin. It was a young female, about one and half years old. The sedated leopard was then taken to the nearest forest camp office at Jeypore, a distance of 8 km and kept under observation for a few hours after it revived from the sedation.

It was a successful rescue and the release was done on the same day in its natural habitat around 6 PM by the team. Khanin’s smile was justified that day, as often it could turn horribly wrong if the crowd lynched the animal before the rescue team can reach and take control of the situation. “This was the third rescue of this year, the female leopard was not agitated and aggressive making our work easier. We released it in Jeypore Wildlife Sanctuary, harbouring 6 felid species” said a smiling Khanin.

WTI’s MVS units staffed by trained wildlife vets are supported by the HCL Foundation and are committed to quick response in wildlife emergencies. WTI operates three such units, one each in Eastern Assam, Odisha and Arunachal Pradesh.