Mumbai: A day after a leopard walked into the cage and got trapped, the forest officials confirmed that it is not the same animal they were looking for. The trapped animal seems to be the attacker’s sibling. When the researchers matched its rosette pattern (these imprints/patterns are unique to each leopard, like human fingerprints) with pictures of the animal on an attacking spree captured in the camera traps this week, they realised that the one that had walked into the cage was not the same that they suspected had carried out the recent attacks.
Even as the forest officials have admitted that the trapped leopard was involved in the multiple attacks at Aarey milk colony, they have said that it is the sibling, belonging to the same litter as 'human attacking' leopard. However, relying on the footages and pictures it was found that the one that has been captured too was involved in one of the six attacks in the last one month.
The trapped leopard is believed to be involved in the one attack on September 26, on four-year-old Aayush Kumar Yadav. The leopard pounced on the child dragged him for about 30 feet in front of his family. The animal left the boy after the boy's uncle ran after it.
“The leopard that was caught on Friday morning is the sibling of the leopard that is suspected to have caused the attacks and the one we are looking for. Both the one that is trapped and the one we are looking for are female sub-adult cubs,” said Sunil Limaye, principal chief conservator of forests (PCCF) - Wildlife.
He added: “Researchers are still working on matching the leopard with past pictures to confirm the finding. So far, the one trapped seems to be the one who attacked on September 26. We are still evaluating whether this female cub was involved in other attacks too. However it is not the one that attacked the elderly woman on September 29, it was the other female cub. Once the evaluation of other attacks is done we will take a call about her release.”
On Thursday evening, cages were placed in four conflict areas where the leopard had attacked humans. At around 6 am on Friday, the leopard walked into the cage near Unit No. 3 at Aarey Colony and was trapped. It was then taken to the rescue centre at Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP). The trapped leopard, approximately 4-year-old, was examined by Dr S Pethe, veterinarian and assistant commissioner, wildlife, SGNP. It had no injuries and is healthy. Officials said that the captured leopard will be held at the centre and its surroundings observed for any more attempts to attack humans. "Trap cages are still activated as we are looking for the other cub," Limaye said.
