Traps set for big cat after child is killed in Aarey

The leopard trap being set up

This Diwali, all light was extinguished from the lives of Akhilesh and Bharti Lot who lost their only child in a leopard attack early Monday morning. The incident occurred when the mother of the 16-month-old baby, Etika, went to light a diya at a temple less than 20 feet away from her home in Aarey Milk Colony. The baby was found after about 40 minutes but eventually succumbed to her injuries at Seven Hills hospital in Marol. Earlier this month, a four-year-old boy from Aarey Colony was injured in a leopard attack.

Etika Lot with a relative

Vasim Athaniya, a neighbour of the Lots, said, "Around 5.45 to 6 am, Bharti went to light up a diya at the small temple outside their house. As the door of the house was open, the infant ran towards her mother. The leopard, which was hiding in the bushes then snatched the girl and vanished into the bushes." The mother started shouting when she heard the child's cries, alerting the neighbours who immediately started searching for the girl in the jungle. Aarey Camera Trapping Team member Satish Lot, the girl's uncle who stays next door to the couple, immediately ran out of his house.

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"My uncle and I, along with a few others including Imran Udat, launched a search operation. Around 7.15 am, I noticed something behind the bushes only to realize that it was the girl lying on the ground. A leopard was sitting about 10 feet away. We started making noises, following which the big cat ran away. I lifted the girl and as we could see her breathing, her father rushed her to the hospital," said Satish.

A camera trap being set up at Aarey Milk Colony

One of the doctors from the casualty department told mid-day, "When we received the patient, her heart rate was declining. We started giving her CPCR (cardiopulmonary cerebral resuscitation). Four cycles of CPCR were given to her but there was no response. There were wounds on her neck due to scratches." Around 9.30 am, the child was declared dead and was taken to the Siddharth postmortem centre in Goregaon.

According to the postmortem report, the baby had succumbed to haemorrhage and shock due to multiple lacerations, contusions over the neck and abrasion over the body. The doctors have kept blood samples for chemical analysis and skin and tissue for histopathology. On the instructions of Assistant Conservator of Forest Girija Desai, Range Forest Officer Rakesh Bhoir and Mumbai Range staff of the forest department also visited the hospital and the site where the incident occurred.

The spot from where the infant was taken away

Immediately after the incident, the Thane forest department team along with the team from Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP) also reached the spot. In the evening, a trap cage was also set to capture the leopard.

Volunteers from the Aarey Camera Trapping team including Satish Lot, Kunal Chaudhari, Imran Udat, Wasim Athaniya, Hitendra Pachakale and Pushpak Tandava along with NGO WWA volunteers Raj Jadhav, Prasad Khandagale reached the spot to assist forest department and a total of 12 camera traps were also installed in the area to see which leopard was responsible for the attack.

A forest department official said, "Our teams will also be doing night patrolling in the area and awareness sessions will also be conducted. The process to give compensation to the kin of the family has also begun." SGNP Field Director G Mallikarjun said, "As today is Diwali, many kids will be outside to burst firecrackers. Hence, our staff are cautioning people staying in the vicinity not to send small children outside at night and early in the morning. Staff from both the Thane territorial and SGNP along with Aarey volunteers group are patrolling the area."

A history of human-leopard conflict at Aarey

>> On Sept 2, Pintu Pandit suffered injuries after an encounter near unit 32.
>> On Sept 18, a big cat pounced on Rohit Tilak Bahadur, 10, near unit 31.
>> On Sept 26, a leopard attacked Ayush Yadav, 3, at unit 3.
>> On Sept 29, senior citizen Nirmal Singh was attacked near Visawa.
>> On Sept 30, Rajesh Rawat was attacked near Sunil Maidan.
>> On Oct 8, Darshan Satish Kumar, 14, was attacked at unit 13.
>> On Oct 24, Balwant Yadav was attacked near unit 31.
>> On Oct 4 this year, Himanshu Avdesh Yadav, a resident of Adarsh Nagar, was attacked but survived.
>> The last human death in Mumbai due to a leopard attack took place at Film City in 2017.

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No of camera traps set up at the spot after the incident