Forest department to monitor movement of leopard that attacked residents last month

The leopard was released into its natural habitat on December 25. (File photo)

The state government’s forest department is set to monitor the movement of a four-year-old leopard that entered a residential building at Mumbai Metropolitan Region’s (MMR) Bhayander on December 19. After capturing the leopard the forest officials had taken it to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) for treatment and observation and later on December 25, the animal was released in the forest with a radio collar fitted to its neck.

“Our observation suggests that the leopard must have separated from its mother and entered human habitation by mistake. The leopard is three to four years old and at this age it’s quite normal for them to look out for their mother aggressively once they get separated,” Anita Patil – director of SGNP told the Indian Express on Saturday.

Patil said that tracking the animal’s movement will enable them to make informed decisions in the future to prevent man-animal conflicts.

After capturing the leopard, a committee was formed at SGNP to take a call on the animal’s future. The officials said that following this, a decision was made to release the animal back into its natural habitat after fitting it with a GPS chip enabled radio collar.

Forest officials said that the GPS collar will help officials study the leopard’s movement and better understand it. Forest staff and a research team from an NGO are tracking the animal using GPS and radio signals. This also helps ground staff learn modern wildlife monitoring methods. The leopard was released into its natural habitat on December 25, and officials said that current observations indicate that the animal is now roaming within its natural environment and is stabilising gradually.

Earlier on December 19, the leopard had entered the residential Parijat Building at Bhayander’s BP road. The animal had attacked seven people, all of whom were seriously injured. The presence of the animal triggered panic and fear in the area as it roamed around the periphery for around seven hours. Later, the forest officials arrived at the spot and captured the animal after tranquilising it.