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Pune Closes Bavdhan Forest Garden After Verified Leopard Sighting Prompts Search

Officials, working with RESQ, urge night-time caution with reports directed to official helplines.

Overview

  • A resident’s video from around 12:30 am on December 1 on Pashan–NDA Road in Bavdhan was verified by the Pune forest division as genuine and not AI-generated or old footage.
  • Forest teams with RESQ conducted site inspections, confirmed ground evidence, installed camera traps, and temporarily closed the Van-udyan for public safety.
  • No fresh confirmed sightings have been reported since the initial clip, and the animal has not been captured.
  • Officials say the leopard likely used the Ramnadi nala movement corridor linked to NDA hill ranges that connect toward Mulshi, which occasionally brings wildlife into urban fringes.
  • The department reports nearly 40 sighting calls a day with about 90% turning out false or AI-generated, so residents are urged not to share unverified media and to use helplines 1926 or 9172511100.