Recent leopard sightings in Mumbai at residential areas like Marol and Malad have instilled a sense of fear among the locals. According to the forest department, the leopard has returned to its natural habitat, however, they have set up cages near residential areas like Marol and Dindoshi for safety.
The forest department installed a cage trap in Marol's Bhavani Nagar on Friday night, where an adult leopard was captured on CCTV cameras on March 7 morning. The cage is kept with bait in it, and if the leopard comes frequently to the spot, it may get trapped in it.
The CCTV footage shows the leopard strolling on the road in the middle of the night with various vehicles parked on the side of the road.
Though according to sources, sightings of a leopard are not very rare because these residential areas are near the periphery of the natural habitat of the leopards - which is the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), Aarey colony and film city.
However, the residents of Marol have formed a 'vigilance group,' which has been patrolling the neighbourhood in groups of at least ten people every evening and they have strictly prohibited children from loitering outside after dusk.
Days after the Marol sighting, another incident was reported in Malad near the New Dindoshi Royal Hills Co-operative Society, which houses 77 bungalows built by MHADA in 2005. Around 500 residents stay in the housing society.
Earlier sightings
November 2022
Earlier in November 2022, a leopard entered a Kalyan residential complex and attacked a few people before being captured by the Forest Department.
August 2020
In August 2020, a leopard was spotted along the boundary of a residential area, near JB Nagar in the Andheri-MIDC area (east), and was successfully captured by the Forest Department.
April 2019
In April 2019, officials from the Forest Department rescued a leopard from the Woodland Crest building in Vijay Nagar, Andheri, Mumbai. The leopard was spotted in the area beneath the stairwell.
