At the end of August, following an emergency call from the local forestry department, IAR’s team in Indonesia rescued a Javan leopard that had been trapped in a snare for several days.
The team set off from Bogor at the crack of dawn the day after they received the call and hastened to Banten district within the province of west Java. They were greeted by an expectant crowd of villagers, police and soldiers all eagerly awaiting their arrival. The villagers had been watching helplessly for several days as the poor leopard struggled desperately to get out of the snare but only succeeded in tightening the wire around its body so that it was deeply embedded in its flesh. The concerned villagers provided the terrified animal with food but had no means of setting it free.
The team then walked for two hours up a steep mountain to get to the leopard. When they finally reached the trapped animal they used a blow pipe to dart it with an anaesthetic drug before setting about treating and releasing it. However the deep wounds were infected and crawling with maggots, and there was a danger that the animal’s hip muscles had been damaged. The leopard was put in a transport cage and carried back to the car down in the village. Then the rescue team headed back to the ASTI rescue centre in Bogor.
The following day, the IAR veterinarians and Dr Karthi of the Hong Kong SPCA, who was visiting IAR’s team in Ciapus, arrived at the Bogor centre and sedated the leopard again in order to clean the wound up properly and assess the damage.
During the coming weeks Aceng will be on antibiotic treatment. The wound is healing very well and he is getting stronger by the day. The villagers in Banten are anxiously waiting for good news of ‘their leopard.’ They want him back home where he belongs, and when he is finally fully recovered the IAR team will release him back in his forest.
IAR is appealing to the public for emergency funding to cover the cost of Aceng’s food and veterinary care. The charity is also hoping to raise enough money for a radio collar so that the leopard’s movements can be monitored when he is released to ensure that he continues to thrive and stays out of trouble in future.