Pune: In a rare occurrence, four leopards have been captured in a span of just 18 days in the Bighevasti-Katwanvasti area in Ambegaon taluka. The latest capture took place early on Thursday (August 29), when a one-and-a-half-year-old leopard cub was trapped in a cage set by the Forest Department.
Shortly after the cub’s capture, a female leopard tried to free it by repeatedly ramming the cage, prompting the Forest Department to issue a safety alert to residents.
The first leopard was captured on August 12, followed by a second, a one-year-old male, on August 18, and a third on August 25. The latest capture is the fourth in this series.
The frequency of these incidents has caused alarm among local residents, who are now worried about the continuing presence of leopards in the area.
Farmers in the area, led by Maruti Karbhari Bhor, had requested the Forest Department to set additional traps due to frequent leopard sightings.
Following the recent capture, Bhor reported witnessing a female leopard growling and hitting the cage in an attempt to rescue the trapped cub. The rescue team from the Forest Department, along with local villagers and officials, managed to take the leopard cub into custody.
The situation has heightened concerns among locals after a leopard killed two sheep belonging to a farmer, Santosh Patilbuwa Lokhande, late Sunday night. This incident further indicates that leopards remain active in the vicinity, leading to growing fears among residents.
Safety Alert for Residents
The Forest Department has advised residents of Bighevasti-Katwanvasti to exercise caution, especially after a female leopard showed aggressive behavior by ramming into the cage where the cub was trapped.
Given the possibility of further aggression, authorities are considering setting up more traps and have requested residents to remain alert.
In order to be sold as pets, infant monkeys are pulled from their mothers for sale to the pet trade. Photo by Picture Press/Alamy Stock Photo
A backyard breeder of primates who has been on our radar for years was in the news this week for an incident that defies all common sense. Michael Poggi, who runs his operation from his home in Florida, charged a man $150 in August for a “full contact experience” with an adult leopard in his possession. According to an investigative report by Florida officials, Poggi agreed to let the victim, Dwight Turner, go inside the leopard’s cage to “play with it, rub its belly and take pictures.” The leopard attacked Turner, biting him on the head and the ear.
Turner underwent multiple surgeries for his critical injuries. Poggi was charged by the state of Florida with a misdemeanor for keeping wildlife in an unsafe condition and for allowing full contact with an extremely dangerous animal.
Our wildlife team began tracking Poggi years ago because of his backyard primate breeding business. While this aspect escaped the attention of the media reporting on the leopard incident, it is just as concerning because of the public safety and animal welfare problems involved.
In order to be sold as pets, infant monkeys are pulled from their mothers for sale to the pet trade. Poggi advertises baby marmosets on the internet for prices as high as $5,900, with “financing available”. Records show that in 2014, Poggi sold a six-week-old marmoset monkey to a Massachusetts couple for $3,500. A year later, the monkey was confiscated by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game because keeping a pet monkey in the state is illegal.
Poggi also offers close encounters with wild animals as well as takes animals off-site to birthday parties and other events.
As cute as they are, primates like marmosets and capuchin monkeys are not pets. Even the smallest primates are incredibly strong and can inflict serious injuries with their teeth and nails, including puncture wounds, severe lacerations and infections. Experts also agree that keeping primates can be extremely traumatic to the animals. Marmosets, for instance, like all primates, are intelligent and emotionally complex animals who need to be with their mothers for an appropriate amount of time and around their own kind to develop normally.
As veterinarian Kevin Wright, director of conservation, science and sanctuary at the Phoenix Zoo in Arizona points out, when kept in homes, primates are almost certain to become mentally disturbed. “The animal will never be able to fit in any other home. Never learn how to get along with other monkeys. And, more often than not, will end up with a lot of behavioral traits that are self-destructive.”
We have seen first-hand the suffering primates endure in captivity. Many of the primates at our Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch have been rescued from the exotic pet trade, including Willie, a pig tailed macaque, and Jackie, a capuchin monkey. Jackie had been a pet for 20 years and was living in a large bird cage in someone’s home for much of her life when she was seized by Louisiana authorities. Willie came to us 20 years ago after he bit his owner.
There have been 540 documented safety incidents involving captive primates in the United States since 1990, and more than half have been attributed to primates kept as pets. Zoonotic diseases – caused by germs that spread between people and animals – are also a concern. Human cold sores, according to Wright, can kill smaller monkeys like marmosets and tamarins. Macaques can carry herpes B, a potentially fatal virus to humans, infecting them through bites or scratches.
Approximately 25 states now prohibit keeping some or all primate species as pets, but these laws have limitations. Primates continue to be easily available from backyard breeders like Poggi and on the internet, so anyone who wants to keep a monkey as a pet can easily buy one.
The Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund are supporting bills in Congress that would stop the exploitation of primates and big cats. The Captive Primate Safety Act, S. 2562/H.R. 1776, would make it difficult for individuals not qualified to handle primates to buy and keep them as pets. The bill, introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Reps. Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would prohibit the interstate and foreign commerce of these animals for the exotic pet trade. It would not impact zoos, universities or wildlife sanctuaries. The Big Cat Public Safety Act, S. 2561/H.R. 1380, introduced by Sen. Blumenthal and Reps. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., would ban the possession of big cat species like tigers, lions and leopards by unqualified individuals, and it would prohibit poorly run animal exhibitions from allowing public contact with big cats.
Please contact your members of Congress and urge them to pass these bills, ending the suffering of thousands of primates and big cats across the United States who are now in the hands of people who should never be allowed to have them.
Sara Amundson is president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund.
Updated Jun 20, 2019 | 18:19 IST | Mirror Now Digital
Pani spread across villages after the locals saw the dead leopard and informed authorities. Forest department officials reached the spot after getting reports of the leopard hanging from high-tension wires.
The feline’s face was said to be badly burnt. | Photo Credit: ANI
Gurugram: A leopard was found dead in a tree alongside an electric pole in Mandawar village in Sohna near Gurugram. The big cat was found hanging on the electric pole, presumably electrocuted while he was hunting, on Thursday morning.
Panic spread across villages after the locals saw the dead leopard and informed concerned authorities. Forest department officials reached the spot after getting reports of the leopard hanging from high-tension wires.
“It is a clear case of electrocution. There is no foul play. It seems the feline came in contact with the wires while chasing prey, most probably a monkey. The face of the leopard is completely burnt,” a report in The Hindu quoted Divisional Forest Officer Shyam Sunder as saying.
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The big cat’s face was said to have been badly burnt. The body of the leopard, said to be around that of a two-year-old animal, was removed from the pole by forest officials and sent for post-mortem.
In another such incident of a wild animal dying inside human habitat areas, a wild cat was beaten to death by villagers in Mandawar in 2016.
Leopards often wander into nearby villages dotting the Aravali mountain area, often in search of food and water. Many cases of leopard deaths through electrocution have been reported in the past few years.
According to a report in The Hindu, a big cat died in Hyderabad in Telangana in 2017 when it climbed an electric pole and got stuck in the wires. As forests shrink due to encroachments and increasing human habitation, many felines have been killed in accidents on roads.
According to a report in News18, around half-a-dozen deaths of leopards have been reported from the Aravali Hills. In 2014, four leopards were found dead under mysterious condition near the Manesar Golf Course. A leopard died in an accident near Sahrawan village near Manesar in 2014.
With scientists and conservationists saying that the Earth is currently undergoing the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals and species going extinct at up to 1000, to 10,000 the natural, rate, the world is going downhill, fast. However, very rarely, everyone is reminded that it’s perhaps not too late.
One of these rare occasions has just occurred in Taiwan where a rare species of large cat, the Formosan clouded leopard, has just been spotted in the wilderness by a number of people across the archipelago’s southeast region. The leopard has been spotted walking around in the countryside near Taitung County’s Daren Township, where the area’s Paiwan tribal authorities had formed indigenous ranger groups to patrol the region and guard the sensitive areas.
Species hasn’t been sighted since 1983
This is actually great news because this particular species of Leopard hasn’t been officially sighted since 1983, more than 35 years ago, and 6 years ago, in 2013, it was officially decades as extinct. This gives hope to many other animals that were once thought to be extinct. Maybe they are still out there somewhere. It was first spotted by a group of rangers when it suddenly climbed up a tree and then scrambled up a cliff side to go and hunt for goats. Another group also spotted it when it darted in front of their scooter before quickly claiming another tree and disappearing from sight for good. Even though the group didn’t manage to see it again, at least they know it exists and was able to report back about it.
Tribal members want to stop hunting in the area
As soon as the news was heard, a tribal meeting was held by the locals to discuss how is best to move forward. The tribal members of the village are aiming to stop hunting in the area by outsiders, while village elders are lobbying Taiwanese authorities to end logging and other activities that harm the land, and potentially this rare animal as well. The Formosan is known to be quite agile and vigilant, eluding human attempts to trap or otherwise capture it, so it’s somewhat of a mystery that should probably just be left in its natural habitat.
Historical records of the rare cat date back to around the 13th century, when indigenous people brought the leopard’s pelts to trade at the busy markets of port cities like Tainan. Many believe that Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryūzō, in 1900, was the only non-indigenous person to have actually seen a live Formosan clouded leopard.
Our world has become a very rough neighborhood in recent years, with scientists and conservationists saying that the Earth is currently undergoing the sixth mass extinction of plants and animals and species going extinct at up to 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural rate.
However, on rare occasions, we’re reminded that perhaps it’s not too late for everyone—perhaps the reports of an animal species’ demise were premature, even if that species remains in grave danger.
Such is the case in Taiwan, where a rare species of large cat, the Formosan clouded leopard, has been spotted in the wilderness by a number of people across the archipelago’s southeast, according to Taiwan News.
🔥 This is a Formosan clouded leopard from Taiwan, it was thought to be extinct until it was spotted this week. The last time it was seen was 1983 pic.twitter.com/ijme0W7VvQ
The Formosan clouded leopard hadn’t been officially sighted since 1983 and was declared extinct in 2013.
The leopard had been spotted prowling in the countryside near Taitung County’s Daren Township, where the area’s Paiwan tribal authorities had formed indigenous ranger groups to patrol the region and guard sensitive areas.
According to Taiwan News, the rangers spotted the leopard–known as Li’uljaw and holding a sacred status for locals–suddenly climbed a tree before scrambling up a cliff to hunt for goats. Another group witnessed the Asian cat dart past a scooter before quickly climbing a tree and disappearing from sight.
The significance of the find is striking for locals, who held tribal meetings in Alangyi Village to determine how best to move forward.
Tribal members of the village hope to halt hunting in the area by outsiders, while village elders are lobbying Taiwanese authorities to end logging and other activities that harm the land.
The Formosan is known to be quite agile and vigilant, eluding human attempts to trap or otherwise capture it.
National Taitung University’s Department of Life Science professor Liu Chiung-hsi told Focus Taiwan News Channel:
“I believe this animal still does exist.”
Professor Liu also noted that in past investigations of the leopard’s whereabouts, he encountered hunters from the indigenous Bunun people who admitted capturing the animal on several occasions in the late 1990s. However, they burned the bodies for fear of violating Taiwan’s Wildlife Conservation Act.
From 2001 to 2013, a team of Taiwanese and U.S. zoologists surveyed the region but failed to sight the animal once, prompting the declaration that the Formosan clouded leopard had officially gone extinct.
Historical records of the rare cat date back to around the 13th century, when indigenous people brought the leopard’s pelts to trade at the busy markets of port cities like Tainan. It is believed that Japanese anthropologist Torii Ryūzō, in 1900, was the only non-indigenous person to have actually seen a live Formosan clouded leopard.
That was the feeble excuse made by Blake Fischer, the Idaho Fish & Game commissioner who—like so many others before him—posed grinning and gloating in one morbid photo after another with the animals he’d mindlessly murdered.
How many leopards must be reduced to props for these tweaked sportsmen’s arrogant pleasures, before the laws protecting them are brought into at least the 20th century?
He might not have done anything “illegal,” but impaling to death with arrows and posing alongside an entire family of freshly-killed baboons breaks a lot of taboos, besides being in excessively poor taste for a supposed wildlife official.
And although his actions may not currently be “illegal,” who could really blame someone for doing something in response that was?
Madonna has attacked Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s sons after they posed for a picture with a leopard they had killed during a hunting trip in Africa.
The pop icon wrote on Instagram that the picture, which showed Donald Trump Jr and Eric Trump holding the dead cat’s body, was another reason to vote for the Democratic party. She wrote: “How big of [a] pussy do you have to be to kill this noble animal for sport? Just ask Donald Trump Jr and his brother Eric. One more reason to vote for Hillary!”
The picture is believed to have been taken in 2011, during a safari trip to Zimbabwe. Other photos that emerged, including the brothers posing with dead elephants and crocodiles, have been condemned by animal rights activists.
Trump has defended his sons in the past saying: “My sons love to hunt. They are members of the NRA [National Rifle Association], very proudly. I am a big believer in the second amendment. But my sons are hunters, Eric is a hunter and I would say he puts it on a par with golf, if not ahead of golf. They’re great marksman [sic], great shots, they love it.”
In supporting Hillary, Madonna joins many musical celebrities, including Paul McCartney, Justin Timberlake and Jon Bon Jovi. However, Madonna is actually related to the Democratic hopeful – they are 10th cousins.
A rifle-touting Donald Trump Jr. grins next to a buffalo he killed on a trip to Zimbabwe in 2011.
(HuntingLegends.com/Hunting Legends)
Eric Trump is pictured with an animal he killed on a visit to Zimbabwe.
(HuntingLegends.com/Hunting Legends)
Donald Jr. is seen with the tail of an elephant he killed during the 2011 hunting trip.
(HuntingLegends.com/Hunting Legends)
Brothers Donald Trump, Jr. (l.) and Eric Trump (r.) are pictured with a cheetah that they killed on their 2011 trip to Zimbabwe.
(HuntingLegends.com/Hunting Legends)
Eric Trump is pictured with a buffalo he killed in Zimbabwe in 2011.
(HuntingLegends.com/Hunting Legends)
1 | 5A rifle-touting Donald Trump Jr. grins next to a buffalo he killed on a trip to Zimbabwe in 2011.(HuntingLegends.com/Hunting Legends)
Their dad likes shooting from the lip, but the Trump kids prefer shooting wild animals with guns.
Pictures of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, the two adult sons of bombastic 2016 candidate Donald Trump, shooting wild animals in Africa have resurfaced, sparking unflattering comparisons of the mogul’s heirs to lion-killer Walter Palmer.
The Trump brothers went on a 2011 hunting trip in Zimbabwe, where they snapped photos of themselves with enormous dead animals they took down.
In one photo, Donald Trump Jr., known to many as “Donnie,” is seen toting a rifle and flashing a huge grin while seated next to a dead buffalo he had just killed. In another picture, Eric Trump is seen sitting atop his fresh kill, another buffalo, smiling as the dead animal lies still on the ground.
Exposing the Big Game 