A 35-year-old woman was killed in a leopard attack in Baglan taluka, Nashik, on Tuesday morning, after which forest officials captured a suspected male leopard following a 12-hour search operation involving cages, trap cameras and a thermal drone.
The woman was attacked while walking towards a farm in the early hours, according to the report. The leopard reportedly dragged her towards a nearby nullah and fatally injured her throat and neck before partially feeding on her. Her husband found the body during a search later in the morning and alerted the authorities.
The attack caused panic in the village, where residents had reported repeated leopard sightings in the preceding days. Villagers had also complained of attacks on domestic animals, indicating that concern had been building before the fatal incident. The forest department had already installed three cages in the area to trap the animal.
Following the death, forest teams expanded the operation. Eight cages and five trap cameras were deployed around the village, while a thermal drone was used to monitor the leopard’s movement. Officials said the search began at about 10 am, with teams expecting the animal to return to the location of the attack.
Surveillance continued through the day and into the night. At around 10 pm, the rescue team detected the leopard. The animal was then darted, tranquillised and safely placed in a cage, bringing the immediate search operation to an end.
A forest official said the captured animal was a male leopard estimated to be around two-and-a-half years old. “Based on the evidence gathered and the territorial behaviour of leopards, we believe this is the animal involved in the attack,” the official said. The wording indicates that the department’s identification remains an assessment based on evidence gathered during the operation, rather than a separately stated conclusive confirmation.
The leopard was shifted to the Transit Treatment Centre for wild animals at Mhasrul, on the outskirts of Nashik, for medical examination and further procedures. The next steps will therefore depend on the examination and procedures undertaken by the forest authorities at the centre.
The incident highlights the immediate safety risks faced by communities living near forested areas and agricultural land, where residents may travel before sunrise or after dark. Forest officials urged people in forest-fringe villages to avoid venturing out alone during the night and early morning hours and to report leopard sightings immediately.
For residents of the affected village, the department’s response has moved from tracking a suspected attacking animal to examining the captured leopard and managing safety alerts in the area. Officials have not provided further details in the supplied report about the animal’s eventual release, relocation or continued confinement.
