India, Aug. 10 -- A six-year-old female leopard was rescued from a hunting foot trap in a sugarcane field in Nangaon village, Daund taluka, in a joint operation by the Pune Forest Department and RESQ Charitable Trust. Officials said this could be the third instance of a leopard being found caught in a hunting foot trap in the region over the past three years.

The incident was reported at 10am on Friday by Aniket Shinde, sarpanch, Nangaon village, who alerted range forest officer Rahul Kale and the RESQ team. Forest department staff of Daund range and RESQ members reached the location by 11am.

The adult female leopard was found with her left forelimb caught in an iron foot trap. She was visibly exhausted, likely from struggling through t...