After fatal leopard attack in Pune, forest department orders animal’s elimination

Following the death of a 13-year-old boy in a leopard attack in Pimparkhed village of Pune district, the Maharashtra Forest Department on Monday ordered the capture and “elimination” of the animal identified as responsible.

A team of five sharpshooters has been deployed, forest officials confirmed. The move came after enraged villagers torched a forest department vehicle and blocked the Pune–Nashik Highway near Avsari, protesting frequent leopard attacks in the region.

Assistant Conservator of Forests Smita Rajhans said camera traps have been set up and DNA samples from tranquilised leopards will be matched with those from the victim. “If a match is found, the leopard will be eliminated as per the principal conservator’s orders,” she said. Other captured leopards will be kept in a rehabilitation centre during testing.

In wildlife terms, “elimination” refers to the authorised shooting of a confirmed man-eating animal, permitted under the Wildlife Protection Act when it poses a serious threat to human life.

The victim, Rohan Bombe, was attacked on Sunday evening while playing near farmlands. This marks the third death in a month from leopard attacks in the Shirur region, which has one of Maharashtra’s highest leopard densities, about six to seven per 100 sq km in the Junnar forest division.

Wildlife experts say shrinking forest corridors, agricultural expansion, and the abundance of livestock have brought big cats dangerously close to human settlements. Maharashtra has reported over 100 human fatalities from wild animal attacks in 2022, with leopards and tigers responsible for most deaths. Between 2022 and 2024, at least 11 people were killed and 25 injured by leopards in Pune district alone.

Conservationists warn that while eliminating one leopard may ease local tensions, it does not address the deeper problem of habitat loss and human encroachment that continue to fuel the state’s growing human-animal conflict.