Pune: A total of 51 leopards have been captured by the Junnar forest division in an unprecedented trapping operation since Nov 2025. This highlights the sheer scale of the growing human-wildlife conflict within the sugar cane-rich belt along the Pune-Ahilyanagar border.Forest officials focussed in the “Bet Baag” region, successfully removing the 51 leopards from just three villages: Pimparkhed, Jambut and Takli Haji.The intensive operation was launched on Nov 2, 2025, after a series of leopard attacks — including three fatal incidents last year — triggered widespread anger among the residents.The conflict had reached a flashpoint when villagers staged large-scale protests and blocked the Pune-Nashik Highway at Manchar for nearly 24 hours, demanding immediate intervention from the forest department.Following the agitation, the department intensified its efforts and installed over 40 cages across the affected villages. Since then, leopards have been trapped regularly, with the officials describing the numbers as unlike anything seen before in the region.“This is an unprecedented number of leopards being found in only three villages. The situation is extremely severe and therefore we have been taking extensive measures in these villages since last year,” Smita Rajhans, assistant conservator of forest, told TOI.According to the forest officials, a range of interventions has been introduced to reduce conflict and improve response time. These include artificial intelligence-based alert systems, awareness programmes for the villagers and establishment of a dedicated rescue centre to handle emergencies and leopard sightings.The three villages are located along the banks of the Kukdi River and are surrounded by hundreds of hectares of sugar cane cultivation. Wildlife experts and forest officials say the dense sugar cane fields provide ideal shelter for the leopards, allowing them to breed and remain hidden close to human settlements.Over the years, the region has become one of Maharashtra’s most sensitive human-leopard conflict zones. While the trapping operations have reduced immediate threats in some pockets, residents fear the steady stream of captured animals indicates that new leopards are continuously moving into the area.Villagers say the figures point to a larger ecological challenge rather than an isolated problem. “Leopards are getting trapped one after another. It shows that a new leopard is taking over the place. This is risky for us as it has already disturbed our lives significantly,” Naresh Dome, former sarpanch of Pimparkhed village, said.Many residents claim that fear has become a part of daily life, particularly for farmers and sugar cane field workers. Parents are also worried about their children travelling to schools and tuition classes.“We are living under constant fear. Even after so many leopards have been trapped, sightings continue. People think twice before stepping out after dark,” a resident of Jambut village said.Forest officials said that trapping alone cannot solve the issue and stress the need for long-term coexistence measures. “Apart from the trapping, we have initiated several other measures to mitigate the situation in these villages,” added Rajhans.
