The 800-acre Aarey Forest, which was declared as a reserve forest in 2019, is believed to house almost 290 species of wildlife.A video of a leopard strolling inside a walled courtyard of a house in Mumbai’s Aarey Colony Sunday went viral. The video, which appears to have been recorded on a CCTV camera, is dated June 1 and it records the time at 2.43 am.
The one-minute-17-second long video was shared on Twitter by Indian Forest Service officer Susanta Nanda. Soon, Nanda’s tweet went viral and the video gathered over 1.6 lakh views.
Commenting on the video, a Twitter user wrote, “The original forested area of Aarey Colony and nearby areas have shrunk over the past 50 years or so, due to coming up of industrial units, residential bldgs, hotels etc affecting the wildlife.”
The original residents of Aaray colony, Mumbai, taking a stroll last night pic.twitter.com/tahXBhVzpC
— Susanta Nanda IFS (@susantananda3) July 1, 2022
When man starts grabbing forests, it is natural for animals to go anywhere hunting for food. We are the ones disrupting the natural order.
— KAVIRAJ PATIL (@patil_kaviraj) July 2, 2022
Perhaps this could be one of the last video of these lovely residents strolling carefree in their natural habitat once the metro car shed takes over?
— Pappu (@PappuSh51568941) July 2, 2022
& there are still ppl who don’t believe #Aarey hosts wildlife. Would be interesting to see how many of those are willing to take a stroll at night in this forest. In fact there are some who even debate if Aarey is a forest!! #SaveForest to #SaveSoil
— Prasad (@PledgeGren) July 2, 2022
After 9 PM ppl avoid to go in Aaray Colony as this is common
— 🇮🇳Susheel ਸੁਸ਼ੀਲ (@Susheelmumbai) July 1, 2022
Sad to see what urbanisation has done to these living. Soon it will be killed because it was strolling in its once own premises
— Sky (@umarbaia) July 2, 2022
We human are intruding in their home…it is not their fault that yhey are visiting their home..
— Anushkasushil (@Anushkasushil1) July 2, 2022
Sorry to say but they are not original resident of Aarey Colony. I have been staying in aarey colony since 60s and used move freely at odd hours but very rarely spotted them. Mostly used to see jackels. Now are spotted frequently because of easy availability of food,dogs,hens etc
— MVL (@LOHARKARMV) July 1, 2022
Probably wondering who’s taken over what used to be ours. We humans have encroached upon their area, got into the jungle in the name of advancement, deforestation was required for that..and now we’re facing the results.
— Rina Ghose (@GhoseRina) July 2, 2022
The original forested area of Aarey Colony and nearby areas have shrunk over the past 50 years or so, due to coming up of industrial units, residential bldgs, hotels etc affecting the wildlife.
— Balakrishnan KK (@KKBALAKRISHNAN) July 3, 2022
Leopards have been frequently sighted near and around the Aarey Colony. Last month, a leopard strayed into a school in Mumbai’s Goregaon, which is near Aarey Colony, and was rescued in a joint operation by the forest department and the police.
This latest leopard sighting also comes after new Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s decision to move the construction of the Colaba-Bandra-SEEPZ Metro car shed near Aarey Forest. Activists believe that any large-scale construction in Aarey Forest will be detrimental to the natural environment and rich wildlife of the area.
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The 800-acre Aarey Forest, which was declared as a reserve forest in 2019, is believed to house almost 290 species of wildlife.
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First published on: 03-07-2022 at 04:43:31 pm
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