Leopard netted after 18 hours,released

“The ten-member team set up a cage with a live bait of a chicken inside and placed it at the door of the basement on Saturday. The leopard was hidden in the basement all day and finally walked into the cage early on Sunday morning,” said Sunil Limaye,Chief Conservator of Forests (Sanjay Gandhi National Park). It was fed chicken,kept for a few hours and released with a microchip fitted on Sunday evening.

Forest officials believe the leopard presumably entered the school premises from the neighbouring SGNP in search of food on Friday night or early morning. It was found by the school gardener in the basement of the school around 10.30 am on Saturday. “The school gardener saw the leopard in the basement and locked it inside,by closing both the front and the back door. He then informed the police and the forest department. As it was a Saturday,there were no children in the school,just a few staff members. No one was injured in the incident,” said JJ Jadhav,senior police inspector,Mulund police station. The forest department was soon alerted and sent a rescue team led by a veterinarian to the spot around 11 am.

Cases of leopards straying into human settlements have increased in the past few years,said Krishna Tiwari,a wildlife expert who works closely with the forest department on the city forest initiative.

“Incidents used to happen earlier also but their frequency has increased in the past five to six years. This is because the leopard’s habitat has shrunk and its prey base has depleted. Also,since the leopards are surrounded by human settlements,they prey on dogs and other livestock as they are easier to catch than deer or wild boar,” he said. SGNP has not less than 20 leopards which are found mostly on its periphery,where human settlements exist.

Tiwari said human-animal conflicts were inevitable as the forest is in the heart of the city but some short and long-term initiatives can be undertaken. “Awareness among people on how to avoid leopard attacks is needed such as keeping their areas clean as garbage attracts livestock on which leopards feed. Also,more quick response teams with sophisticated equipment are needed to handle such situations. A boundary wall can also be constructed so that at least humans can be kept away from the leopard habitat,” he said.