Photos from Wildlife SOS
A three-year-old male leopard is recuperating after it was rescued earlier this week from what Wildlife SOS is calling “one of the cruelest human-created threats to wildlife, the jaw trap.”
Barbaric devices used to catch or immobilize animals, jaw traps are controversial hunting devices which indiscriminately cause severe injuries and death to any sentient being that crosses its path. As previously reported by WAN, even children and companion animals such as dogs have fallen victim to these inhumane contraptions.
“Animals caught in these traps often struggle for hours, in some cases even days before succumbing to thirst, hunger, strangulation, internal injuries and even predation from carnivores,” Wildlife SOS, which participated in the leopard’s remarkable rescue, shared on its website, further explaining that the leopard in this case was found entrapped in a steel jaw trap, set up by poachers in Jeur Haibati Village, located in the Ahmendnagar District, in Maharashtra, India.
After receiving a call for help from the Maharashtra Forest Department, which aims to create awareness and educate the masses about the illegality of such offences and curb poaching, they dispatched a four-member team armed with safety nets, restraining equipment and a trap cage.
“The leopard’s left forelimb was caught in the steel jaw trap and in its attempt to break free of the painful leg-hold trap, the leopard started running amok in the neighboring agricultural field,” Wildlife SOS explained in a post on its website, noting that a crowd of hundreds of screaming onlookers gathered around the area, further adding to the animal’s distress.
After Forest Department officials and the team from Manikdoh Leopard Rescue Centre executed public safety measures by cordoning off the area, Wildlife SOS’ Senior Veterinarian Dr. Ajay Deshmukh was able to carefully immobilized the big cat, using a sedative injection from a safe distance.
The organization explained that the timely removal of the jaw trap was essential to evade any further damage to the forelimb. The wound was disinfected, and the team administered topical treatment along with analgesics and anti-inflammatory medication.
This time, the feline, who will be released into the wild when deemed fit, sustained no internal injuries, and the wound on its forelimb was determined to be minor.
The heinous practice of trapping should be eradicated before any more innocent animals, or people, are hurt or killed.
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