Leopard Returns to Pune Airport Premises
For the second time in less than a week, a leopard has been spotted within the premises of Pune International Airport, triggering an immediate response from forest authorities and wildlife experts. The latest sighting occurred at dawn on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, according to airport staff who reported the big cat's presence.
Expanded Monitoring and Security Measures
The Forest Department has significantly ramped up its surveillance efforts following the repeated sightings. Five additional camera traps have been installed at strategic locations where leopard movement is considered likely, bringing the total number of active monitoring devices to eight. This decision came after the initial three camera traps failed to capture any evidence of the elusive animal.
Deputy Conservator of Forest for Pune, Mahadev Mohite, confirmed the developments: "Earlier, three camera traps had been installed, but none of them had recorded any evidence of the leopard. Accordingly, five new camera traps have been installed today at various locations where leopard movement is likely."
In addition to the enhanced electronic surveillance, authorities have deployed three trap cages at strategic points to facilitate the animal's capture if necessary. The entire operation is being conducted as a collaborative effort involving field officers and staff from the Pune Forest Range, wildlife rescue experts from RESQ Charitable Trust, and officials from the Indian Air Force.
Coordinated Search Operations Underway
The search for the leopard represents a multi-agency effort with significant coordination between different departments. On Monday morning, a joint field visit was conducted in the Pune Airport area where officials inspected the location where the leopard had first been spotted on November 19.
During this inspection, the team thoroughly examined various tunnels in the area. Forest department officials confirmed that the Indian Air Force has completely sealed these tunnels, eliminating the possibility that the leopard might be using them as a hiding spot. However, officials have cautioned that the animal could potentially be sheltering in the surrounding vegetation.
Two separate teams from the Forest Department along with wildlife rescue experts have been deployed not only at the airport but also in the Aundh area, where another leopard was sighted in RBI Colony and adjacent Sindh Society on November 23 around 4 am.
False Alarms and AI-Generated Images Cause Confusion
Authorities are facing challenges beyond the actual leopard sightings. Search operation teams in Aundh have reported an increasing number of AI-generated leopard images being circulated in housing society groups and on social media platforms.
An officer involved in the Aundh operation noted: "We have been receiving multiple calls about the sightings. All these reports have been checked and have been found to be unsubstantiated." These false alarms not only create unnecessary panic among residents but also delay genuine response efforts when actual sightings occur.
Airport Operations Remain Unaffected
Despite the wildlife presence, officials have confirmed that neither defense nor civilian flying operations have been impacted at the Pune International Airport. The airport operates as a civil enclave within the Indian Air Force's Lohegaon Air Base, sharing a single runway for both military and civilian flights.
The airside operations are coordinated between the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the IAF, with designated time slots and operational spaces ensuring safe and efficient use of the runway and taxiways for both sectors. This isn't the first such incident - a similar leopard sighting occurred on the airport premises in April earlier this year, prompting a search operation at that time as well.
Following the previous incident, the Forest Department had held meetings with Indian Air Force authorities, advising them to exercise caution in their operational and residential enclaves. Despite multiple sightings captured on camera traps during that earlier episode, no leopard was ultimately trapped.
